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The effect of mental arithmetic in normotensive and hypertensive subjects, and its modification by beta‐adrenergic receptor blockade.
Author(s) -
Nyberg G,
Graham RM,
Stokes GS
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
british journal of clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.216
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1365-2125
pISSN - 0306-5251
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1977.tb00764.x
Subject(s) - blockade , beta (programming language) , mental arithmetic , adrenergic receptor , medicine , adrenergic , receptor , pharmacology , endocrinology , arithmetic , mathematics , blood pressure , computer science , heart rate , programming language
1 The effects of a 5‐min period of sustained mental arithmetic upon blood pressure and heart rate were determined in several groups of healthy subjects and hypertensive patients. 2 The arithmetic produced significant increases in heart rate and blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) in both normotensive and hypertensive subjects. 3 The blood pressure changes were neither attenuated nor enhanced by the prior administration of basis. 4 In subjects habituated to the test the heart rate increase was unaffected by the drugs, but in those less familiar with the test it was usually attenuated. 5 Although the beta1‐ adrenoceptor selective blocker, metoprolol, caused decreases in baseline values for blood pressure and heart rate similar to those observed with the use of the two non‐selective blockrs, it was shown in a double‐blind crossover comparison with propranolol that the haemodynamic changes provoked by the mental arithmetic were not less in the presence of beta1‐receptor blockade than when both beta1‐ and beta2‐ receptors were blocked. 6 These findings suggest that, during beta2‐ adrenoceptor blockade, the haemodynamic effects of minor mental stress are not exaggerated because of uncompensated alpha‐receptor mediated vasoconstriction, such as occurs following adrenaline infusion.