Blood Flow Velocity in Femoral Artery

We have so far extensively studied that the cardiovascular regulation during recovery from exercise is mediated by a variety of factors, including the autonomic nervous system, baroreceptor reflexes, neural afferents originating in muscular mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors (or metaboreceptors), and central command from the cerebral motor cortex. Especially, in an upright position, the functions of the skeletal muscle pump play important roles in maintaining appropriate blood flow to postexercise muscles and in promoting the venous return of blood to the heart. These functions thus enhance cardiac filling and augment stroke volume via the Frank-Starling mechanism. However, understanding of postexercise hemodynamics, such as the rate of blood flow to exercising muscles in humans, has been still limited. The reason for this limitation is that it is difficult for us to measure the velocity of blood flow in conduit vessels through working muscles accurately and noninvasively; for example, measuring sensors may be displaced from target vessels owing to muscle contraction and relaxation.