Difference in the Cardiovascular Response to Prolonged Sitting in Men and Women

Abstract

Orthostatic stress, sitting, results in adjustments of cardiovascular variables to maintain blood pressure and is prominent in a variety of occupations. Sitting serves as the control position for head-out water immersion studies. This study addressed gender differences in the cardiovascular response to prolonged sitting. Ten men and 10 women had cardiovascular measurements in the supine position compared with measurements during 2 hours in the seated position (Sit). Supine cardiovascular measurements were similar for both sexes. Heart rate changed similarly for both sexes with Sit. With Sit, men had elevated mean arterial pressure (9 +/- 3%), total peripheral resistance (54 +/- 9%), and decreased cardiac index (-27 +/- 5%), while women had no change in mean arterial pressure, lesser elevations in total peripheral resistance (17 +/- 7%), and lesser decreases in cardiac index (-12 +/- 5%) than men. Thus men, compared to women, had an elevated mean arterial pressure response to prolonged orthostatic stress.