Cardiovascular and norepinephrine responses of men and women to two cold pressor tests

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. McLean ◽  
P. Sathasivam ◽  
K. MacNaughton ◽  
T. E. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Latin Square ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Plasma Norepinephrine ◽  
Plasma Catecholamine ◽  
The Face ◽  
Blood Pressure Responses ◽  
Venous Plasma

Two types of cold pressor tests were used to study gender differences in cardiovascular and plasma catecholamine responses. Ten male and ten female, young, healthy Caucasian subjects participated. The tests consisted of (1) 5 °C air blown at 3.5–4 m/s onto part of the face for 4 min and (2) the open right hand immersed to the wrist in water at 5 °C for 4 min. Heart rate, blood pressure (BP), and venous plasma norepinephrine were collected before, during, and 5 min after the 4 min of cold exposures. Test order was decided by a Latin square design, and the subjects rested in a quiet room for 30 min between the two tests. All parameters demonstrated significant (p < 0.01) increases from rest during the cold tests. Gender differences were significant (p < 0.01) in diastolic and systolic BP in each test with the males having a greater response, but gender differences were not found in heart rate or norepinephrine concentration. The study demonstrated that gender differences exist in the blood pressure responses to local cold, but that the mechanisms involved do not include a parallel difference in heart rate or venous plasma norepinephrine concentration.Key words: blood pressure, gender differences, stroke volume.

Changes in sympathoadrenal response to standing in humans after spaceflight

1995 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 428-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Whitson ◽  
J. B. Charles ◽  
W. J. Williams ◽  
N. M. Cintron
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Stroke Volume ◽  
Space Shuttle ◽  
Cardiovascular Responses ◽  
Plasma Norepinephrine ◽  
Plasma Catecholamine ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Catecholamine Levels

Plasma catecholamine levels and cardiovascular responses to standing were determined in astronauts before and after several Space Shuttle missions. Blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output were measured and blood samples for catecholamine analyses were drawn at the end of the supine and standing periods. Supine plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations increased 34 and 65%, respectively, on landing day compared with before flight. Standing on landing day resulted in a 65 and 91% increase in plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine, respectively. Supine and standing norepinephrine levels remained elevated 3 days after landing while epinephrine levels returned to preflight levels. On landing day, supine heart rate and systolic blood pressure increased 18 and 8.9%, respectively, and standing heart rate and diastolic blood pressure were elevated by 38 and 19%, respectively. On standing, stroke volume was decreased by 26% on landing day compared with before flight. Collectively, these data indicate that the decreased orthostatic function after spaceflight results largely from the decreased stroke volume. Possible mechanisms contributing to this condition are discussed.

Blood pressure and plasma catecholamines in acute and prolonged hypoxia: effects of local hypothermia

1999 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 2053-2058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge-Lis Kanstrup ◽  
Troels Dirch Poulsen ◽  
Jesper Melchior Hansen ◽  
Lars Juel Andersen ◽  
Morten Heiberg Bestle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
High Pressures ◽  
Acute Mountain Sickness ◽  
Plasma Catecholamines ◽  
Plasma Norepinephrine ◽  
Plasma Catecholamine ◽  
Local Cooling ◽  
Local Hypothermia

This study measured the pressor and plasma catecholamine response to local hypothermia during adaptation to hypobaric hypoxia. Eight healthy men were studied at rest and after 10 and 45 min of local cooling of one hand and forearm as well as after 30 min of rewarming at sea level and again 24 h and 5 days after rapid, passive transport to high altitude (4,559 m). Acute mountain sickness scores ranged from 5 to 16 (maximal attainable score: 20) on the first day but were reduced to 0–8 by the fifth day. Systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma epinephrine increased on day 1 at altitude compared with sea level but declined again on day 5, whereas diastolic and mean blood pressures continued to rise in parallel with plasma norepinephrine. With local cooling, an increased vasoactive response was seen on the fifth day at altitude. Very high pressures were obtained, and the pressure elevation was prolonged. Heart rate increased twice as much on day 5 compared with the other two occasions. Thoracic fluid index increased with cooling on day 5, suggesting an increase in pulmonary vascular resistance. In conclusion, prolonged hypoxia seems to elicit an augmented pressor response to local cooling in the systemic and most likely also the pulmonary circulation.

Attenuated responses to sympathoexcitation in individuals with Down syndrome

2003 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 2158-2165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Fernhall ◽  
Mari Otterstetter
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Autonomic Dysfunction ◽  
Treadmill Exercise ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Maximal Heart Rate ◽  
Isometric Handgrip ◽  
Blood Pressure Responses

This study evaluated blood pressure and heart rate responses to exercise and nonexercise tasks as indexes of autonomic function in subjects with and without Down syndrome (DS). Twenty-four subjects (12 with and 12 without DS) completed maximal treadmill exercise, isometric handgrip (30% of maximum), and cold pressor tests, with heart rate and blood pressure measurements. Maximal heart rate and heart rate and blood pressure responses to the isometric handgrip and cold pressor tests were reduced in subjects with DS ( P < 0.05). Both early (first 30 s) and late (last 30 s) responses were reduced. Obesity did not appear to influence the results, as both obese and normal-weight subjects with DS exhibited similar responses, and controlling for body mass index did not alter the results between controls and subjects with DS. Individuals with DS, without congenital heart disease, exhibit reduced heart rate and blood pressure responses to isometric handgrip exercise and cold pressor testing, consistent with autonomic dysfunction. Autonomic dysfunction may partially explain chronotropic incompetence observed during maximal treadmill exercise in individuals with DS.

scholarly journals Reduced GABA inhibition of sympathetic function in renal-wrapped hypertensive rats

1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (5) ◽  
pp. R1523-R1529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas S. Martin ◽  
Joseph R. Haywood
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Arterial Pressure ◽  
Paraventricular Nucleus ◽  
Plasma Norepinephrine ◽  
Plasma Catecholamine ◽  
Hypertensive Rats ◽  
Sympathetic Function ◽  
Arterial Pressure Measurement ◽  
Gaba Function

Animals with bilateral cannulas in the paraventricular nucleus were made hypertensive by a one-kidney, figure eight renal wrap procedure or sham operated. Femoral artery and vein catheters were inserted for arterial pressure measurement and plasma catecholamine determination. After recovery and 4 days after hypertension surgery, bicuculline methiodide or muscimol was microinjected into the paraventricular nucleus. In some rats, nitroprusside was infused intravenously to reflexly stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. In control rats, bicuculline increased blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations. In contrast, in hypertensive rats blood pressure did not change while the heart rate response was maintained. Plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine responses were reduced 75 and 68%, respectively. Muscimol injections decreased arterial pressure in the hypertensive rats. Heart rate responses to nitroprusside were similar in the two groups of rats, while the plasma catecholamine responses were attenuated in the hypertensive animals. These data suggest that GABA function in the paraventricular nucleus is reduced in renal wrap hypertension.

scholarly journals Who’s the boss: determining the control pathways of cardiovascular and cellular immune responses to acute stress

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-379
Author(s):  
Kate M. Edwards ◽  
Nathan B. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Autonomic Response ◽  
Blood Pressure Responses

Acute stress responses are known to include increases in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as increases in the number of circulating immune cells, all of which are governed by the autonomic nervous system. This laboratory practical measures cardiovascular and circulating immune cell responses to a passive (cold pressor) and active (mental arithmetic) acute stress task in student participants. The results allow them to examine the different patterns of autonomic response they elicit (approximated by heart rate and blood pressure responses), and knowledge of these responses can then be used to infer the governing autonomic aspect of the increases in circulating immune cells from the results. This activity can be either adapted from teacher-led methods to inquiry, asking students to design the details of the acute stress tasks, or developed by asking students to design a follow-up experiment that could be used to provide direct evidence for their conclusions. Data collected provide a platform for teaching data analysis and interpretation, as well as critical thinking.

Hemodynamic and plasma catecholamine responses to hyperthermic cancer therapy in humans

1979 ◽  
Vol 237 (5) ◽  
pp. H570-H574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. D. Kim ◽  
C. R. Lake ◽  
D. E. Lees ◽  
W. H. Schuette ◽  
J. M. Bull ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Cardiac Index ◽  
Venous Blood ◽  
Plasma Norepinephrine ◽  
Plasma Catecholamine ◽  
Hemodynamic Changes ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Mixed Venous ◽  
Venous Plasma

Cancer patients, treated with hyperthermia (to 41.5 degrees C) under thiopental and fentanyl anesthesia, had smaller increases in heart rate and cardiac index and lesser decreases in mean arterial pressure than those reported in normal volunteers. At basal body temperature anesthesia did not alter catecholamine levels. Increasing body temperature to 39.5 degrees C and 41.5 degrees C resulted in parallel increases in heart rate and cardiac index that were directly related to the increases in plasma norepinephrine levels. At basal temperature cutaneous venous plasma norepinephrine levels exceeded those of arterial; mixed-venous plasma levels were intermediate. At 39.5 degrees C and 41.5 degrees C there were sequential increases in plasma norepinephrine. The increases in mixed-venous and arterial norepinephrine were significantly greater than in cutaneous venous blood. The differential increases in norepinephrine levels in cutaneous venous, mixed-venous, and arterial blood indicate that during hyperthermia sympathetic nerve activity in skin is decreased while that in other areas is increased, suggesting that alterations in sympathetic activity modulate the hemodynamic changes that attend hyperthermia in man.

Plasma catecholamine and blood pressure responses to sympathetic stimulation in pithed rats

1979 ◽  
Vol 237 (3) ◽  
pp. H305-H310 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Yamaguchi ◽  
I. J. Kopin
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Plasma Levels ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Plasma Norepinephrine ◽  
Plasma Catecholamine ◽  
Sympathetic Stimulation ◽  
Pithed Rats ◽  
Blood Pressure Responses ◽  
A Minor

Sympathetic stimulation in pithed rats elicits increases in blood pressure (BP) and plasma levels of catecholamines. The BP is proportional to the logarithm of the plasma norepinephrine (NE) concentration. Adrenal medullectomy diminishes slightly only the initial phase of the BP responses, whereas bretylium blocks completely the BP response and diminishes by about 70% the increase in plasma NE. Adrenal medullectomy completely prevents the increase in plasma epinephrine (Epi) and diminishes by 30% plasma NE. Plasma levels of NE appear to reflect sympathetic neuronal activity, but the NE at sympathetic nerve endings is responsible for the increase in BP. Epi released from the adrenal medulla may enhance and accelerate the initial BP response, but plays only a minor role after the first 15 s.

Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Reactivity

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Whited ◽  
Kevin T. Larkin
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
Cardiovascular Reactivity ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Conflict Task ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
Blood Pressure Responses

Sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity to stress are well documented, with some studies showing women having greater heart rate responses than men, and men having greater blood pressure responses than women, while other studies show conflicting evidence. Few studies have attended to the gender relevance of tasks employed in these studies. This study investigated cardiovascular reactivity to two interpersonal stressors consistent with different gender roles to determine whether response differences exist between men and women. A total of 26 men and 31 women were assigned to either a traditional male-oriented task that involved interpersonal conflict (Conflict Task) or a traditional female-oriented task that involved comforting another person (Comfort Task). Results demonstrated that women exhibited greater heart rate reactions than men independent of the task type, and that men did not display a higher reactivity than women on any measure. These findings indicate that sex of participant was more important than gender relevance of the task in eliciting sex differences in cardiovascular responding.

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