This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fauvel, J. P. Articles by Ducher, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Fauvel, J. P. Articles by Ducher, M. Related Collections Hypertension - basic studies Epidemiology Autonomic, reflex, and neurohumoral control of circulation

(Hypertension. 2000;35:887.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.

Scientific Contributions

Mental Stress–Induced Increase in Blood Pressure Is Not Related to Baroreflex Sensitivity in Middle-Aged Healthy Men

Jean Pierre Fauvel; Catherine Cerutti; Pierre Quelin; Maurice Laville; Marie Paule Gustin; Christian Zacharie Paultre; Michel Ducher

From the Département de Néphrologie et d’Hypertension Artérielle (J.P.F., M.L., M.D.), EA 645 Université C. Bernard, Hôpital E. Herriot, Lyon, France; CNRS ESA 814 (C.C., M.P.G., C.Z.P.), Faculté de Pharmacie, Lyon, France; and Médecine du Travail (P.Q.), Rhodia, Saint-Fons, France.

Correspondence to Jean Pierre Fauvel, Département de Néphrologie et d’Hypertension artérielle, Hôpital E. Herriot, 69437 Lyon, France. E-mail jean-pierre.fauvel{at}chu-lyon.fr

Abstract—The baroreflex that acts to blunt blood pressure (BP) variations through opposite variations in heart rate should limit the BP increase produced by an emotional challenge. However, relations between baroreflex sensitivity and BP reactivity induced by a psychological stress in a large group of adults have never been firmly established. In 280 healthy men, rest (10 minutes) and stress (5 minutes) BP and heart rate were recorded beat to beat by a blood pressure monitor. The mental stress was elicited by a well-standardized computerized version of a word color conflict stress test (Stroop Color Test). Rest and stress baroreflex sensitivity was assessed by the cross-spectral analysis of BP and heart rate and by the sequence method. The stress-induced increase in systolic BP (22.4±0.1 mm Hg) was not correlated with resting baroreflex sensitivity but was slightly correlated (r=0.2, P<0.001) with BP variability assessed either by standard deviation or by mid-frequency band spectral power. Our results suggested that a centrally mediated sympathetic stimulation overcame cardiac autonomic regulation and emphasized the role of the sympathetic vasoconstriction in the pressure response at the onset of the stressing stimulation. During the sustained sympathoexcitatory phase, the cardiac baroreflex blunts BP variations but at a lower sensitivity.

Key Words: baroreflex • blood pressure • men • spectral analysis • stress, mental

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. L. Daubert and V. L. Brooks Nitric oxide impairs baroreflex gain during acute psychological stress Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, February 1, 2007; 292(2): R955 - R961. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Mukai, M. Gagnon, I. Iloputaife, J. W. Hamner, and L. A. Lipsitz Effect of Systolic Blood Pressure and Carotid Stiffness on Baroreflex Gain in Elderly Subjects J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., July 1, 2003; 58(7): M626 - 630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. W. Kamarck and W. R. Lovallo Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychological Challenge: Conceptual and Measurement Considerations Psychosom Med, January 1, 2003; 65(1): 9 - 21. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Waki, T. Shimizu, K. Katahira, T. Nagayama, M. Yamasaki, and S.-I. Katsuda Effects of microgravity elicited by parabolic flight on abdominal aortic pressure and heart rate in rats J Appl Physiol, December 1, 2002; 93(6): 1893 - 1899. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. D. Lipman, P. Grossman, S. E. Bridges, J.W. Hamner, and J. A. Taylor Mental Stress Response, Arterial Stiffness, and Baroreflex Sensitivity in Healthy Aging J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., July 1, 2002; 57(7): B279 - 284. [Abstract] [Full Text]