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Effects of Sympathetic Activation on Aortic Stiffness in Young Healthy and Hypertensive Adults
Author(s) -
Lahti Dana S.,
Hayward Shayne D.,
Wells Calvin R.,
McNair Erick D.,
Tomczak Corey R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.918.6
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , arterial stiffness , pulse wave velocity , blood pressure , isometric exercise , sympathetic nervous system , baroreflex , ctl* , autonomic nervous system , aorta , pulse pressure , heart rate , antigen , cd8 , immunology
Aortic stiffness is a major link between hypertension and cardiovascular risk. Anatomic features of the artery including the smooth muscle regulate aortic stiffness, in part. Importantly, vascular smooth muscle is under sympathetic nervous system control, and thus aortic stiffness may be influenced by the sympathetic nervous system. When exposed to physiological stress, older hypertensive adults demonstrate an exaggerated blood pressure response that may correspond with transient arterial stiffness increases, but this response in young hypertensive adults remains unknown. PURPOSE We tested the hypothesis that sympathetic activation would increase aortic stiffness in young healthy adults (control, CTL), and that aortic stiffness increases during sympathetic activation would be greater in young hypertensive adults (HTN). METHODS Six healthy controls (males=4, females=2; 28.3±5.5 years; BMI: 23.5 ± 3.5 kg/m 2 ) and three young hypertensive participants (males=2, females=1; 28.3±6.0 years; BMI: 30.3±8.2 kg/m 2 ) were studied. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured at rest and during 5 min of brachial circulatory occlusion (sympathetic activation condition) that followed isometric handgrip exercise. RESULTS Resting MAP was higher in HTN (100±6 mmHg) than CTL (90±5 mmHg; P =.029). Occlusion MAP was also higher in HTN (116±6 mmHg) than CTL (102±7 mmHg; P =.016). Resting PWV was similar between CTL (8.6±1.6 m/s) and HTN (8.1±0.1 m/s; P =.47). The increase in PWV from rest to occlusion (1.2±1.4 m/s) in CTL was not significant ( P =.09), whereas the increase in PWV from rest to occlusion (2.0±0.4 m/s) in HTN was significant ( P =.01). CONCLUSION Sympathetic activation may significantly increase aortic stiffness in young hypertensive adults, but not young healthy adults. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .