The effects of upper body exercise across different levels of blood flow restriction on arterial occlusion pressure and perceptual responses

Recent studies have investigated relative pressures that are applied during blood flow restriction exercise ranging from 40%–90% of resting arterial occlusion pressure; however, no studies have investigated relative pressures below 40% arterial occlusion pressure. The purpose of this study was to characterize the cardiovascular and perceptual responses to different levels of pressures. Twenty-six resistance trained participants performed four sets of unilateral elbow flexion exercise using 30% of their 1RM in combination with blood flow restriction inflated to one of six relative applied pressures (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50%, 90% arterial occlusion pressure). Arterial occlusion pressure was measured before (pre) and immediately after the last set of exercise at the radial artery. RPE and discomfort were taken prior to (pre) and following each set of exercise. Data presented as mean (95% CI) except for perceptual responses represented as the median (25th, 75th percentile). Arterial occlusion pressure increased from pre to post (p