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Fish oil and neurovascular reactivity to mental stress in humans
Author(s) -
Carter Jason R.,
Schwartz Christopher E.,
Yang Huan,
Joyner Michael J.
Publication year - 2013
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.27.1_supplement.1192.1
Subject(s) - fish oil , blood pressure , heart rate , reactivity (psychology) , medicine , endocrinology , physiology , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , alternative medicine , pathology , fishery
Omega‐3 fatty acids found in fish oil have been suggested to protect against cardiovascular disease, yet underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Given the well documented links between mental stress (MS) and cardiovascular risk, we hypothesized that fish oil would blunt blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) responsiveness to MS. Neural and cardiovascular responses to a 5 min mental arithmetic protocol were recorded in 67 non‐hypertensive subjects before and after 8 wks of fish oil (9g/day; n=33) or placebo (olive oil; 9g/day; n=34). Fish oil blunted HR reactivity to MS (group × condition × time interaction, P=0.012), but did not alter BP reactivity (interactions, P>;0.05). Fish oil blunted total MSNA reactivity to MS (interaction, P=0.039), but did not alter MSNA burst frequency and burst incidence reactivity (interactions, P>;0.05). Finally, fish oil significantly blunted calf vascular conductance (CVC) reactivity to MS (interaction, P=0.013), but did not alter forearm vascular conductance reactivity (interaction, P>;0.05). In conclusion, 8 wks of fish oil supplementation significantly attenuated HR and total MSNA reactivity to MS, and elicited a paradoxical blunting of CVC. These findings support and extend the growing evidence that fish oil may have positive health benefits regarding neural cardiovascular control in humans. Supported by NIH (HL‐088689).