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Attenuated Mental Stress‐Induced Brachial Artery Hyperemia in Women Relative to Men
Author(s) -
Olvera Guillermo,
Akins John D.,
Richey Rauchelle E.,
Campbell Jeremiah C.,
Martin Zachary T.,
Chan Esther Y.,
Ogundipe Ayomide O.,
Brothers R. Matthew
Publication year - 2019
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.2019.33.1_supplement.541.16
Subject(s) - reactive hyperemia , brachial artery , medicine , supine position , forearm , cardiology , blood pressure , peripheral , blood flow , follicular phase , surgery
While the contributing factors resulting in hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are multifactorial, vascular dysfunction and exposure to chronic stress are key contributors. In this regard, previous research has indicated that men and women exhibit differential responses to stress. Acute mental stress (MS) elicits increases in peripheral blood flow that are predominately mediated by the actions of nitric oxide (NO) and thus is a technique that can be utilized to assess vascular function. Previous research has focused on sex differences in the response to MS in a variety of physiological variables; however, the impact of sex on the peripheral blood flow response to MS is less clear. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate the brachial BF hyperemic response during acute MS between men and women. We hypothesized that the hyperemic response to MS would be similar between the groups. Nine women (studied between days 2–7 of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle) and seventeen men participated in this study. All measurements were obtained in the supine position following a 15 min baseline period. After the baseline period, the left arm was instrumented for continuous assessment of brachial artery diameter and blood velocity, which were used for subsequent calculation of brachial BF. Continuous arterial blood pressure was obtained on the contralateral arm for calculation of forearm vascular conductance (FVC; Flow/MAP). Brachial BF and FVC were continuously calculated during 2 min of baseline and 3 min of MS induced by asking subjects to subtract 7 continuously from a 3‐digit number while attempting to report answers at a pace set by a 60 bpm metronome. Compared to men, women had a reduced baseline blood flow (men: 84.39 ± 49.39 mL/min, women: 36.79 ± 15.41 mL/min; p = 0.01). In response to mental stress, women also had attenuated responses in the following variables: peak BF achieved during MS (men: 244.94 ± 119.06, women: 141.75 ± 86.98 ml/min; p = 0.03), total BF throughout the duration of MS (men: 408.91 ± 131.10, women: 196.84 ± 86.72 ml/min; p < 0.01) and peak FVC achieved during MS (men: 2.86 ± 1.24, women: 1.13 ± 0.63 mL/min/mmHg; p < 0.01). In conclusion, contrary to our hypothesis, these preliminary findings indicate that women had a reduced hyperemic response in the brachial artery during MS relative to men. Further research is warranted to assess mechanisms of these differential responses between sexes. Support or Funding Information UTA Start‐up funds to R. Matthew Brothers This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .