Sympathetic neural reactivity to mental stress in offspring of hypertensive parents: 20 years revisited

Abstract

Fonkoue IT, Wang M, Carter JR. Sympathetic neural reactivity to mental stress in offspring of hypertensive parents: 20 years revisited. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 311: H426 -H432, 2016. First published July 1, 2016; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00378.2016.-A number of recent studies have highlighted large interindividual variability of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) responsiveness to mental stress in humans. The purpose of this study was to examine blood pressure (BP) and MSNA responsiveness to mental stress in a large and generalizable cohort of young adults with and without family history of hypertension (FHH). We hypothesized that subjects with FHH would demonstrate greater sympathoexcitation to mental stress than subjects without FHH. A total of 87 subjects (55 men and 32 women, 18 -40 yr of age) from recently published (n ϭ 45) and ongoing (n ϭ 42) studies were examined; 57 subjects (19 with FHH and 38 without FHH) had complete MSNA recordings at baseline. Heart rate (HR), BP, and MSNA were recorded during 5 min of supine rest and 5 min of mental stress (mental arithmetic). Resting MSNA and HR were not statistically different between subjects with and without FHH (P Ͼ 0.05), whereas resting mean arterial pressure was higher in subjects with FHH (86 Ϯ 2 vs. 80 Ϯ 1 mmHg, P Ͻ 0.05). Mental stress increased MSNA in subjects with FHH (⌬5 Ϯ 1 bursts/min), but not in subjects without FHH [⌬1 Ϯ 1 burst/min, P Ͻ 0.01 (time ϫ group)]. Mental stress increased mean arterial pressure (⌬12 Ϯ 1 and ⌬10 Ϯ 1 mmHg, P Ͻ 0.001) and HR (⌬19 Ϯ 2 and ⌬16 Ϯ 2 beats/min, P Ͻ 0.001) in subjects with and without FHH, but these increases were not different between groups [P Ն 0.05 (time ϫ group)]. MSNA and BP reactivity to mental stress were not correlated in either group. In conclusion, FHH was associated with heightened MSNA reactivity to mental stress, despite a dissociation between MSNA and BP responsiveness.family history of hypertension; muscle sympathetic nerve activity; blood pressure; cardiovascular reactivity hypothesis NEW AND NOTEWORTHY Subjects with a family history of hypertension (FHH) demon

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

“…A recent study by Fonkoue et al . () substantiates and extends these findings, with reports of greater elevations in MSNA during mental stress in those with a family history of hypertension than those without, despite no differences in the blood pressure responses between groups. Although the effect of mental stress on MSNA has been the focus of a number of studies over the past 40 years, many research groups have reported increases in MSNA in response to laboratory mental stressor tasks (Kuniyoshi et al .…”

Rapid onset pressor response to exercise in young women with a family history of hypertension

“…; Fonkoue et al . ). We previously reported exaggerated pressor and sympathetic responses during the last minute of submaximal static handgrip in young women +FH (Greaney et al .…”

Taking a sympathetic approach to post‐traumatic stress disorder

“…; Fonkoue et al . ), suggest this concept may warrant further investigation. We agree with Park et al .…”

“…; Fonkoue et al . ), giving rise to a ‘sympathetic reactivity hypothesis’ (Fonkoue et al . ) that parallels the ‘cardiovascular reactivity hypothesis’, which suggests that heightened haemodynamic responses to acute laboratory mental stress provide a unique window into future risk of hypertension.…”

“…), giving rise to a ‘sympathetic reactivity hypothesis’ (Fonkoue et al . ) that parallels the ‘cardiovascular reactivity hypothesis’, which suggests that heightened haemodynamic responses to acute laboratory mental stress provide a unique window into future risk of hypertension. It remains unclear if examining MSNA reactivity will provide any added insight beyond basic haemodynamic data, but the data presented in this paper by Park et al .…”