Exercise induces gastric ischemia in healthy volunteers: A tonometry study

Johannes A. Otte*, Ellie Oostveen, Robert H. Geelkerken, A. B.Johan Groeneveld, Jeroen J. Kolkman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

112 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Heavy physical exercise may cause gastrointestinal signs and symptoms, and, although splanchnic blood flow may decrease through redistribution by more than 50%, it is unclear whether these signs and symptoms relate to gastrointestinal ischemia. In 10 healthy volunteers, we studied the effect of exercise on gastric mucosal perfusion adequacy using air tonometry. Two relatively short (10 min) exercise stages were conducted on a cycle ergometer, aiming for 80 and 100% of maximum heart rate, respectively. The intragastric-arterial PCO2 gradient (ΔPCO2) was elevated by 1.1 ± 1.0 kPa over baseline values (-0.1 ± 0.3 kPa) only after maximal exercise (P < 0.001). ΔPCO2 positively correlated with the arterial lactate level taken as an index of exercise intensity (Spearman's rank test: r = 0.76, P < 0.0001). By bilinear regression analysis, a lactate level of 12 mmol/l, above which a sharp rise in the ΔPCO2 occurred, was calculated. We conclude that, in healthy volunteers with normal splanchnic vasculature, gastric ischemia may develop during maximal exercise as judged from intragastric PCO2 tonometry.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)866-871
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of applied physiology
Volume91
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Aug 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Exercise testing
  • Gastric mucosal perfusion
  • Intragastric carbon dioxide pressure

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