Augmented pressor responses to individual bursts of muscle sympathetic nerve activity in human obesity

Smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Prior reports showed a transient increase in blood pressure (BP) following a spontaneous burst of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). We hypothesized that this pressor response would be accentuated in smokers. Using signal-averaging techniques, we examined the BP (Finometer) response to MSNA in 18 otherwise healthy smokers and 42 healthy nonsmokers during resting conditions. The sensitivities of baroreflex control of MSNA and heart rate were also assessed. The mean resting MSNA, heart rate, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were higher in smokers than nonsmokers. The MAP increase following a burst of MSNA was significantly greater in smokers than nonsmokers (Δ3.4 ± 0.3 vs. Δ1.6 ± 0.1 mmHg, P < 0.001). The baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) of burst incidence, burst area, or total activity was not different between the two groups. However, cardiac BRS was lower in smokers than nonsmokers (14.6 ± 1.7 vs. 24.6 ± 1.5 ms/mmHg, P < 0.001). Moreover, the MAP increase following a burst was negatively correlated with the cardiac BRS. These observations suggest that habitual smoking in otherwise healthy individuals raises the MAP increase following spontaneous MSNA and that the attenuated cardiac BRS in the smokers was a contributing factor. We speculate that the accentuated pressor increase in response to spontaneous MSNA may contribute to the elevated resting BP in the smokers.

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Neural mechanism of the pressor response to obstructive and nonobstructive apnea

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/jappl.1997.83.6.2048 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 83 (6) ◽

pp. 2048-2054 ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

Srinivas Katragadda ◽

Ailiang Xie ◽

Dominic Puleo ◽

James B. Skatrud ◽

Barbara J. Morgan

Keyword(s):

Arterial Pressure ◽

Sympathetic Nerve ◽

Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Pressor Response ◽

Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Neural Mechanism ◽

Nerve Activity ◽

Saturation Pulse ◽

Ganglionic Blockade ◽

Pressor Responses

Katragadda, Srinivas, Ailiang Xie, Dominic Puleo, James B. Skatrud, and Barbara J. Morgan. Neural mechanism of the pressor response to obstructive and nonobstructive apnea. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(6): 2048–2054, 1997.—Obstructive and nonobstructive apneas elicit substantial increases in muscle sympathetic nerve activity and arterial pressure. The time course of change in these variables suggests a causal relationship; however, mechanical influences, such as release of negative intrathoracic pressure and reinflation of the lungs, are potential contributors to the arterial pressure rise. To test the hypothesis that apnea-induced pressor responses are neurally mediated, we measured arterial pressure (photoelectric plethysmography), muscle sympathetic nerve activity (peroneal microneurography), arterial O2 saturation (pulse oximeter), and end-tidal CO2 tension (gas analyzer) during sustained Mueller maneuvers, intermittent Mueller maneuvers, and simple breath holds in six healthy humans before, during, and after ganglionic blockade with trimethaphan (3–4 mg/min, titrated to produce complete disappearance of sympathetic bursts from the neurogram). Ganglionic blockade abolished the pressor responses to sustained and intermittent Mueller maneuvers (−4 ± 1 vs. +15 ± 3 and 0 ± 2 vs. +15 ± 5 mmHg) and breath holds (0 ± 3 vs. +11 ± 3, all P < 0.05). We conclude that the acute pressor response to obstructive and nonobstructive voluntary apnea is sympathetically mediated.

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