Niki Dietz, M.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic and Foundation

Muscle blood flow: adaptation to anemia

The systemic cardiovascular responses to acute isovolemic and chronic anemia have been described; however, little information is available concerning the regulatory mechanisms which govern them. These physiological responses to anemia will be reviewed. Highlighted will be any new information on topics including local mechanisms of peripheral vasodilation, the contribution of altered blood viscosity to blood flow, cardiovascular reflexes that regulate changes in cardiac output and peripheral vasodilation, and the extent to which blood flow is redistributed during anemia. The relevance to aging with associated physiological changes that may limit adaptations to anemia will also be discussed.