Effect of pre-gestational stress and prenatal venlafaxine administration on cardiovascular system of rat offspring

Abstract

A number of pregnant women all over the world suffer from depression and are treated during gestation with antidepressants, mostly with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. Exposure to prenatal stress is also a great risk factor for a developing fetus and could be responsible for altered fetal development or various neurobehavioral disturbances of a child. Administration of selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine is associated with various cardiovascular adverse effects, such as tachycardia, increased blood pressure, arrhythmias and hypertensive crisis. The aim of this study was to focus on the effect of pre-gestational chronic mild unpredictable stress and/or administration of antidepressant venlafaxine (10 mg/kg/day, p. o.) on specific parameters, determining the function of the cardiovascular system of male and female rat offspring. Blood pressure and standard ECG were recorded in the offspring. Exposure to pre-gestational stress did not cause significant changes in the systolic, diastolic blood pressure and pulse frequency either in males or in females, compared to the unexposed control animals. Pre-gestational stress caused the shortening of QT interval and prolongation of QRS complex duration in males. On the other hand, in females, the effects of pre-gestational stress were potentiated by the administration of venlafaxine and resulted in elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure, prolonged QT interval and shortened QRS complex duration, compared to the control. In conclusion, the female rat offspring are more sensitive to exposure to pre-gestational, to chronic mild unpredictable stress and venlafaxine.

Quercetin Exerts Age-Dependent Beneficial Effects on Blood Pressure and Vascular Function, But Is Inefficient in Preventing Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

“…The systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate (HR) were measured by the non-invasive method of tail cuff plethysmography and the data were recorded by PowerLab 4/30 (ADInstruments, Budapest, Hungary) and evaluated as described previously [64]. Animals were exposed to handling before measurements to avoid stress-induced BP elevation during the procedure.…”

The effect of venlafaxine on blood pressure and ECG in rats fed with high-fat-fructose diet

“…However, there is evidence that antidepressants, including venlafaxine, are independently associated with the worsening or even development of MetS, by an increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as in LDL cholesterol levels and body weight (McIntyre et al, 2010). Moreover, venlafaxine itself may cause cardiac electrical disturbances, such as QT interval and QRS complex prolongation or lethal forms of dysrhythmias (Khalifa et al, 1999;Bavle, 2015;Vicen et al, 2016;Sasváriová et al, 2018).…”