The hyperemic response to exercise is blunted in females with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Some beneficial adaptations to exercise training appear to be blunted in females with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) relative to controls. Impaired hyperemic responses to exercise may contribute to this phenomenon. Therefore, we compared the active limb hyperemic response with acute dynamic single-leg exercise to exhaustion between lean females with PCOS [n = 14, age: 23 ± 5 yr, body mass index (BMI): 23 ± 2 kg/m²] and age- and BMI-matched females without PCOS (CTRL; n = 14). Femoral artery blood flow (FBF; duplex vascular ultrasound) and finger photoplethysmography-derived mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) were recorded at baseline and throughout graded concentric knee extensions to exhaustion (Biodex Pro 4 dynamometer). Resting FBF was not different between PCOS and CTRL (416 ± 238 vs. 360 ± 163 mL/min, respectively; P = 0.43). FBF and leg vascular conductance responses to exercise were blunted in PCOS relative to CTRL (effects of group: P = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Resting MAP was higher in PCOS than CTRL (91 ± 6 vs. 86 ± 7 mmHg; P = 0.04), although MAP responses to exercise were not different between PCOS and CTRL overall (effect of group: P = 0.31). In sum, we observed blunted hyperemic responses throughout exercise in this cohort of relatively healthy females with PCOS.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We studied a young and lean cohort of females with PCOS to determine whether acute hyperemic responses to exercise would be adversely impacted by PCOS, even in a relatively healthy cohort. Despite similar blood pressure responses to exercise, acute hyperemic responses to single-leg exercise to exhaustion were smaller in PCOS than controls. This provides novel information in an attempt to understand the cardiovascular dysfunction characteristic of females with PCOS.