Unilateral bicep curl RE results in a greater increase in CVTMP compared to a VM performed alone.

The majority of intracerebral haemorrhage patients present with markedly elevated blood pressure immediately after symptom onset. Management of blood pressure in the first 24 h is extremely controversial and lends itself to two competing rationales. There is some evidence that early treatment may improve outcome, potentially by reducing the rate of haematoma expansion. It is also possible that this will reduce cerebral blood flow and therefore exacerbate the cerebral injury, particularly in the region surrounding the haematoma. Only a trial that includes both randomisation of patients to two different blood pressure management strategies and actual measurement of cerebral blood flow can effectively address this pressing debate. This is the only unequivocal way to demonstrate the haemodynamic effects of rapid blood pressure reduction. The Intracerebral Haemorrhage Acutely Decreasing Arterial Pressure Trial is designed to test the hypothesis that blood pressure reduction does not result in significant or harmful changes in cerebral blood flow in acute intracerebral haemorrhage. Two hours after randomisation to a systolic blood pressure target of <150 or <180 mmHg, cerebral blood flow is measured using computed tomography perfusion, which is the primary end-point of the trial. A study of this type is critical to establishing the safety of early blood pressure treatment and is necessary for planning larger efficacy trials in a rational manner. This trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00963976).

Sit-stand workstations are a popular workplace intervention. Organizations often require a medical professional's guidance for implementation. Therefore, it is important to understand potential negative outcomes associated with standing work, such as lower limb discomfort and peripheral vascular issues. The objective of this study was to compare changes in lower limb discomfort, blood pressure and blood flow accumulation during a light-load repetitive upper limb work task accomplished from seated and standing postures. At the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital (Laval, Quebec, Canada), 16 participants were outfitted with Laser Doppler Flow (LDF) electrodes to measure blood flow in the lower limb, and a sphygmomanometer to measure lower limb mean arterial blood pressure (MAP). Participants completed simulated work over 34 min in standing and seated conditions. Repeated measures ANOVAs (Posture x Time) were used to assess the differences. There were significant effects for both Posture (p = 0.003) and Time (p = 0.007) for LDF-measured of blood flow accumulation in the soleus and the foot, with a mean increase of 77% blood flow over time in the standing posture, when compared to seated work. There was a significant ‘Posture × Time’ (p = 0.0034) interaction effect and a significant Posture (p = 0.0001) effect for MAP, with higher values in the standing posture by a mean of 37.2 mmHg. Posture had a significant effect (p < 0.001) on lower limb discomfort, with standing posture reporting higher levels. These results suggest that recommendations for using static standing work postures should be tempered, and physicians' guidance on workstation changes should consider the impacts on the lower limb.

A lthough subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) comprises only 1% to 7% of all strokes, 1 the loss of productive life years in the general population from SAH is comparable to that of cerebral infarction 2 because of the relatively young age of onset and poor outcome in SAH. 1,3,4 However, unlike other stroke subtypes, the incidence of SAH exhibits little geographical variation and did not significantly change over the last decades. 1 In the most recent overview of 14 longitudinal and 23 case-control studies of risk factors for SAH published in English from 1966 through March 2005, 5 it was concluded that smoking, hypertension, and excessive alcohol are the most important risk factors for SAH. Exposure to these risk factors individually and/or in combination promotes formation, growth, and rupture of intracranial aneurysm(s), 6 -8 a major cause of SAH. The consistency of the data across studies involving different designs and populations suggests that cigarette smoking and elevated blood pressure are causally related to SAH. 9 There is also evidence that genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of SAH. 10 Accumulating evidence suggest a temporal (seasonal and diurnal) pattern in the occurrence of SAH, 11,12 but reasons for these temporal patterns remain unclear. However, there is still lack of good quality population-based epidemiological studies on incidence, trends, and outcomes of SAH in different populations (especially from developing countries).