Oxygen Absorption and BRS. In this study, we show
that slow breathing and increased oxygen absorption lead to
enhanced BRS. This might result from several possible factors,
all interrelated. In theory, the increase in arterial oxygen
partial pressure increases blood pressure, which in turn could
stimulate the baroreceptors and improve the BRS gain. This
was recently observed in healthy [28] and diabetic subjects
[25]. The seemingly small extent of the increase in oxygen
saturation should not be overlooked. In fact, the haemoglobin
dissociation curves states that at higher saturation values
small changes reflex large changes in the partial pressure of
oxygen.