The cardiovascular system responds to hyperbaric hyperoxia (HBO2) with vasoconstriction, hypertension, bradycardia, and reduced cardiac output (CO). We tested the hypothesis that these responses are linked by a common mechanism-activation of the arterial baroreflex. Baroreflex function in HBO2 was assessed in anesthetized and conscious rats after deafferentation of aortic or carotid baroreceptors or both. Cardiovascular and autonomic responses to HBO2 in these animals were compared with those in intact animals at 2.5 ATA for conscious rats and at 3 ATA for anesthetized rats. During O2 compression, hypertension was greater after aortic or carotid baroreceptor deafferentation and was significantly more severe if these procedures were combined. Similarly, the hyperoxic bradycardia observed in intact animals was diminished after aortic or carotid baroreceptor deafferentation and replaced by a slight tachycardia after complete baroreceptor deafferentation. We found that hypertension, bradycardia, and reduced CO--the initial cardiovascular responses to moderate levels of HBO2--are coordinated through a baroreflex-mediated mechanism initiated by HBO2-induced vasoconstriction. Furthermore, we have shown that baroreceptor activation in HBO2 inhibits sympathetic outflow and can partially reverse an O2-dependent increase in arterial pressure.
Keywords: autonomic nervous system; baroreflex; bradycardia; hyperbaric oxygen; hypertension.