Baroreflex sensitivity is associated with blood pressure transients in young men but not young women

Baroreflex sensitivity is calculated from the slope of the relationship between blood pressure and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) or cardiac R‐R interval. The magnitude of decrease in blood pressure during a vasoactive drug bolus (i.e. modified Oxford) to test the baroreflex may be associated with the calculated baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) slope. We investigated whether the cardiac or sympathetic BRS are associated with the acute decrease in blood pressure during a modified Oxford in young healthy men and women. Forty‐five women (27 ± 1 yrs, BMI 22.9 ± 0.3 kg/m2) and 30 men (27 ± 1 yrs, 24.2 ± 0.4 kg/m2) were studied. MSNA was measured via peroneal microneurography and blood pressure was measured with a brachial intraarterial catheter. Women and men had similar mean arterial pressures (91 ± 1 vs. 90 ± 1 mmHg), cardiac BRS (19 ± 1 vs. 21 ± 2 ms/mmHg), and sympathetic BRS (−6 ± 0.4 vs. −7 ± 0.6 AU/beat/mmHg), respectively. The decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and pulse pressure (PP) was positively related to cardiac BRS in men (r=.47; p<0.01; r=.49; p<0.01). However, there was no relationship between the decrease in blood pressure and sympathetic BRS in men. In addition, there was no association between any blood pressure transients with either cardiac or sympathetic BRS in women. Our results suggest the magnitude of decrease in blood pressure is associated with cardiac BRS in men, but not women. Funded by NIH