Supine exercise restores arterial blood pressure and skin blood flow despite dehydration and hyperthermia.

We determined whether the deleterious effects of dehydration and hyperthermia on cardiovascular function during upright exercise were attenuated by elevating central blood volume with supine exercise. Seven trained men [maximal oxygen consumption (VO(2 max)) 4.7 +/- 0. 4 l/min (mean +/- SE)] cycled for 30 min in the heat (35 degrees C) in the upright and in the supine positions (VO(2) 2.93 +/- 0.27 l/min) while maintaining euhydration by fluid ingestion or while being dehydrated by 5% of body weight after 2 h of upright exercise. When subjects were euhydrated, esophageal temperature (T(es)) was 37. 8-38.0 degrees C in both body postures. Dehydration caused equal hyperthermia during both upright and supine exercise (T(es) = 38. 7-38.8 degrees C). During upright exercise, dehydration lowered stroke volume (SV), cardiac output, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and cutaneous vascular conductance and increased heart rate and plasma catecholamines [30 +/- 6 ml, 3.0 +/- 0.7 l/min, 6 +/- 2 mmHg, 22 +/- 8%, 14 +/- 2 beats/min, and 50-96%, respectively; all P < 0. 05]. In contrast, during supine exercise, dehydration did not cause significant alterations in MAP, cutaneous vascular conductance, or plasma catecholamines. Furthermore, supine versus upright exercise attenuated the increases in heart rate (7 +/- 2 vs. 9 +/- 1%) and the reductions in SV (13 +/- 4 vs. 21 +/- 3%) and cardiac output (8 +/- 3 vs. 14 +/- 3%) (all P < 0.05). These results suggest that the decline in cutaneous vascular conductance and the increase in plasma norepinephrine concentration, independent of hyperthermia, are associated with a reduction in central blood volume and a lower arterial blood pressure.