Rate of rise in diastolic blood pressure influences vascular sympathetic response to mental stress

Abstract

Research indicates that individuals may experience a rise (positive responders) or fall (negative responders) in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during mental stress. The aim was to examine the early blood pressure response to stress in positive and negative responders and thus its influence on the direction of change in MSNA. Blood pressure and MSNA were recorded continuously in 21 healthy young males during 2 min mental stressors (mental arithmetic, Stroop test) and physical stressors (cold pressor, handgrip exercise, post-exercise ischaemia). Participants were classified as negative or positive responders according to the direction of the mean change in MSNA during the stressor tasks. The peak changes, time of peak and rate of changes in blood pressure were compared between groups. During mental arithmetic negative responders experienced a significantly greater rate of rise in diastolic blood pressure in the first minute of the task (1.3 ± 0.5 mmHg s ) compared with positive responders (0.4 ± 0.1 mmHg s ; P = 0.03). Similar results were found for the Stroop test. Physical tasks elicited robust parallel increases in blood pressure and MSNA across participants. It is concluded that negative MSNA responders to mental stress exhibit a more rapid rise in diastolic pressure at the onset of the stressor, suggesting a baroreflex-mediated suppression of MSNA. In positive responders there is a more sluggish rise in blood pressure during mental stress, which appears to be MSNA-driven. This study suggests that whether MSNA has a role in the pressor response is dependent upon the reactivity of blood pressure early in the task.

Arterial baroreflex regulation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity at rest and during stress

“…) and mental stress (El Sayed et al . ). Taken together, these findings highlight that the sympathetic baroreflex can be influenced by blood pressure inputs that are partly independent of absolute DBP.…”

“…Furthermore, both static handgrip exercise and mental stress demonstrate large inter‐individual variability in MSNA response patterns (Carter & Ray, ; El Sayed et al . ; Incognito et al . ), which we found in our stressors to be strongly correlated with the change in ∆DBP T 50 .…”

“…) and mental stress (El Sayed et al . ), suggesting a role for beat‐to‐beat changes in DBP in regulating MSNA.…”

Intact blood pressure, but not sympathetic, responsiveness to sympathoexcitatory stimuli in a patient with unilateral carotid body resection

“…Furthermore, the normal increase in HR and BP during CPT and IHE/PEI despite attenuated MSNA responses may indicate a greater reliance on central rather than peripheral modulation of sympathetic output (i.e., increase in CO vs. increase in TPR; Sayed et al ) when the CB is absent, or an adaptive response of the baroreceptors (Somers et al. ; McBryde et al.…”

Sustained risk of stent thrombosis and restenosis in first generation drug‐eluting Stents after One Decade of Follow‐up: A Report from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry (SCAAR)

“…A limited number of clinical registries have studied long‐term effects (up to 5 years of follow‐up) after implantation of C‐CS, showing a relatively low incidence of major cardiac adverse events , however, raising concerns about a continuing incidence of late‐adverse events . To our knowledge, there are no published data beyond 5 years of follow‐up after implantation of C‐CS.…”