Blood pressure during routine activity, stress, and feeding in black racer snakes (Coluber constrictor)

1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (1) ◽  
pp. R79-R84 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. N. Stinner ◽  
D. L. Ely

The pressor response to normal daily behaviors and acute stress was studied in black racer snakes (Coluber constrictor) at 30 degrees C. In addition, hematological changes during the stress response were assessed. Mean nighttime systemic arterial blood pressure (SABP) in undisturbed snakes was lower than daytime pressure (26 +/- 3 vs. 32 +/- 9 mmHg, P < 0.001). When snakes were fed mice, SABP increased 3.5- to 4-fold and heart rate increased approximately 3-fold above resting values within approximately 30 s (peak SABP, 99 +/- 18 mmHg; peak heart rate, 99 +/- 12 beats/min). Killing and ingesting the mice required 6-15 min, during which time mean SABP and heart rate were 84 +/- 16 mmHg and 92 +/- 12 beats/min. Pulmonary blood pressure also increased but remained 40-50 mmHg lower than SABP. During stress elicited by tapping the snakes for 5-8 min, heart rate was 94 +/- 6 beats/min but SABP averaged only 44 +/- 11 mmHg. Plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine increased 51- and 26-fold. Plasma glucose increased 58%, hematocrit increased 19%, and plasma volume decreased 19%. It is concluded that blood pressure is markedly affected by behavior and that the sympathetic nervous system appears to play a key role.

1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Ramsay ◽  
Fiona Broughton Pipkin ◽  
Peter Rubin

1. Twenty-eight healthy non-pregnant women and 28 women in the first or second trimester of pregnancy were studied. They were given an incremental intravenous infusion of either noradrenaline or angiotensin II. Pressor and heart rate responses were documented. 2. Dose-pressor response curves were constructed for the two agents in pregnant and non-pregnant women (n=14 in each group). The regression parameters of slope and intercept were calculated, and were used to derive the variables of dose required to elicit a 10 mmHg rise in systolic or diastolic blood pressure. 3. The pressor response to angiotensin II was diminished in pregnancy, with approximately twice the dose being required to raise the systolic or diastolic arterial blood pressure as in non-pregnant subjects. 4. The systolic pressor response to noradrenaline was slightly diminished in pregnancy, but the diastolic pressor response was unchanged. There were no significant differences between the doses of noradrenaline required to elicit a 10 mmHg rise in systolic or diastolic arterial blood pressure in pregnant or non-pregnant subjects. 5. There was a diminution in the bradycardia evoked in response to both hormones in pregnancy. 6. We conclude that the well-documented pressor insensitivity to angiotensin II during pregnancy is a specific phenomenon, not a manifestation of a generalized reduction in vascular reactivity.


1992 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 549-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. MacFadyen ◽  
M. Tree ◽  
A. F. Lever ◽  
J. L. Reid

1. The blood pressure, heart rate, hormonal and pressor responses to constant rate infusion of various doses of the angiotensin (type 1) receptor antagonist Losartan (DuP 753/MK 954) were studied in the conscious salt-deplete dog. 2. Doses in the range 0.1–3 μmin−1 kg−1 caused no change in blood pressure, heart rate or pressor response to angiotensin II (54 ng min−1kg−1), and a dose of 10 μgmin−1 kg−1 had no effect on blood pressure, but caused a small fall in the pressor response to angiotensin II. Infusion of Losartan at 30 μmin−1 kg−1 for 3 h caused a fall in mean blood arterial pressure from baseline (110.9 ± 11.2 to 95.0 ± 12.8 mmHg) and a rise in heart rate (from 84.6 ± 15.1 to 103 ± 15.2 beats/min). Baseline plasma angiotensin II (42.5 ± 11.8 pg/ml) and renin (64.5 ± 92.7 μ-units/ml) concentrations were already elevated in response to salt depletion and rose significantly after Losartan infusion to reach a plateau by 70 min. The rise in mean arterial blood pressure after a test infusion of angiotensin II (35.3 ± 11.6 mmHg) was reduced at 15 min (11.8 ± 6.8 mmHg) by Losartan and fell progressively with continued infusion (3 h, 4.3 ± 3.3 mmHg). The peak plasma angiotensin II concentration during infusion of angiotensin II was unaffected by Losartan, but the rise in plasma angiotensin II concentration during infusion was reduced because of the elevated background concentration. Noradrenaline infusion caused a dose-related rise in mean blood arterial pressure (1000 ngmin−1kg−1, +19.9 ± 8 mmHg; 2000ngmin−1 kg−1, +52.8 ± 13.9 mmHg) with a fall in heart rate (1000 ng min−1 kg−1, −27.9 ± 11.5 beats/min; 2000 ng min−1 kg−1, −31.2 ± 17.3 beats/min). During Losartan infusion the 1000 but not the 2000 ng min−1 kg−1 noradrenaline infusion caused a greater rise in mean arterial blood pressure and a greater fall in heart rate. The fall in heart rate tended to decrease with continued infusion of Losartan. Plasma catecholamine concentrations were unaffected by Losartan. In a further study, higher doses of Losartan (100, 300 and 1000 μg min−1 kg−1; 30 min) produced greater falls in mean arterial blood pressure also with a rise in heart rate and complete blockade of the pressor effect of infused angiotensin II. Some animals became disturbed at the highest dose. 3. Losartan produces rapid dose-related falls in blood pressure and a rise in heart rate and renin release with elevation of plasma angiotensin II. Pressor responses to angiotensin II are reduced at intermediate doses and are eliminated at high doses. Losartan does not appear to inhibit angiotensin II clearance from the plasma and may in some way increase it.


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (3) ◽  
pp. R625-R631 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. L. Lowes ◽  
L. E. McLean ◽  
N. W. Kasting ◽  
A. V. Ferguson

Microinjection of angiotensin II (ANG II) into the area postrema (AP) of urethan-anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats elicited statistically significant increases in mean arterial blood pressure at doses ranging from 10 pg to 500 ng (10 pg, mean +/- SE, 10.8 +/- 1.1 mmHg, P < 0.001; 250 ng, 15.2 +/- 2.6 mmHg, P < 0.001). Heart rate was also significantly increased at doses > 10 pg, although these increases were not dose dependent. Systemic administration of losartan (Dup-753), an AT1 antagonist, was able to significantly reduce the pressor response to 250 ng ANG (post-losartan: 81.9 +/- 9.5% reduction in blood pressure response, P < 0.0001), whereas PD123319, an AT2 antagonist, was without significant effect (P > 0.1). Microinjection of vasopressin (VP) (10 pg-500 ng) into the AP also resulted in statistically significant increases in blood pressure at doses ranging from 10 to 100 pg (10 pg, 7.0 +/- 1.5 mmHg, P < 0.05) and 100-500 ng (250 ng, 12.2 +/- 1.8 mmHg, P < 0.0001). Small but significant changes in heart rate were observed only at 100 pg and 100 ng. Systemic administration of a V1 antagonist significantly attenuated the increases in blood pressure in response to 50, 100, and 250 ng VP (250 ng, post-V1 antagonist: 66.4 +/- 8.6% reduction in blood pressure response, P < 0.001), whereas [desamino,D-Arg8]vasopressin (DDAVP), a V2 agonist, had a depressor effect when microinjected directly into the AP (250 ng, -9.9 +/- 1.6 mmHg, P < 0.005).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1982 ◽  
Vol 242 (5) ◽  
pp. R545-R551 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Feuerstein ◽  
C. J. Helke ◽  
R. L. Zerbe ◽  
D. M. Jacobowitz ◽  
I. J. Kopin

Prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) injected into the cerebroventricular system (icv) of halothane-anesthetized rats increased the arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and rectal temperature. These effects were accompanied by a preferential increase in plasma norepinephrine concentration. Plasma levels of epinephrine, renin, and vasopressin were not changed in the PGF2 alpha-icv-treated rats. Bilateral vagotomy did not affect the PGF2 alpha-induced hypertension and tachycardia nor was there any change in the selective increase in plasma norepinephrine concentration. Hexamethonium pretreatment suppressed, in a dose-response manner, the increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and rectal temperature in response to PGF2 alpha-icv. Plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine levels were not altered by PGF2 alpha-icv in hexamethonium-treated rats, but plasma vasopressin concentration was markedly elevated in all hexamethonium-infused rats. These results suggest that selective central activation of the sympathetic nervous system underlies the profound cardiovascular and temperature responses elicited by central administration of PGF2 alpha.


1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (2) ◽  
pp. R373-R381 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Schadt ◽  
E. M. Hasser

We investigated possible interactions between arginine vasopressin (AVP) and endogenous opioid peptides during rapid hypotensive hemorrhage and subsequent opioid receptor blockade in conscious rabbits. Plasma AVP concentration did not change after normotensive hemorrhage but increased after hypotensive hemorrhage. Blockade of V1-AVP receptors (AVPX) did not affect prehemorrhage arterial pressure, heart rate, or hindquarter blood flow and vascular resistance. AVPX did not alter the hemodynamic response to hemorrhage or the blood loss required to reduce mean arterial pressure to less than 40 mmHg. However, hindquarter blood flow was higher and mean arterial pressure and hindquarter resistance lower after hypotensive hemorrhage in AVPX-treated animals. These differences were maintained after naloxone or saline injection. Naloxone increased mean arterial pressure and hindquarter resistance and decreased heart rate with or without AVPX. At 2 min postinjection, plasma AVP values were greater after saline than after naloxone. When naloxone's pressor response was reduced by alpha-adrenergic blockade, plasma AVP values were higher after naloxone than after saline. Thus AVP was not vital to maintenance of blood pressure during rapid normotensive hemorrhage or to the abrupt decrease in arterial blood pressure and resistance after rapid hypotensive hemorrhage. AVP release was important to spontaneous recovery from acute hypotensive hemorrhage but only of minor importance to naloxone's pressor response. Finally, AVP release appeared to be inhibited by endogenous opioids during acute hemorrhagic hypotension.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (6) ◽  
pp. E856-E862 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Yamamoto ◽  
T. Kimura ◽  
K. Ota ◽  
M. Shoji ◽  
M. Inoue ◽  
...  

To assess central effects of endothelin-1 (ET-1) on plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP), plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), blood pressure, heart rate, and renal solute excretion, ET-1 dissolved in the artificial cerebrospinal fluid was infused intracerebroventricularly (icv) at a dose of either 0.35 ng.kg-1.min-1 (0.14 pmol; LET) or 3.5 ng.kg-1.min-1 (1.4 pmol; HET) for 45 min in conscious rats. In the control study, ET-1 was omitted from the vehicle. Moreover, [1-(beta-mercapto-beta,beta-cyclopentamethylenepropionic acid),2-O-methyl-tyrosine]AVP (TMeAVP), a V1-blocker, and prazosin, an alpha 1-blocker, were peripherally administered. In the LET group, mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) increased without any changes in heart rate, plasma AVP and ANP, and renal solute excretion. In the HET group, MABP markedly increased with rises in plasma AVP and ANP, but urine flow, urinary osmolality, and urinary Na and K excretion decreased. TMeAVP attenuated the pressor response to ET-1, abolished rises in plasma ANP, and partially restored falls in urine flow. Prazosin after TMeAVP obviated the pressor response to ET-1. In the control, these parameters did not change, except for an increase in urinary solute excretion. These results showed that icv ET-1 stimulates the sympathetic nervous activity and plasma AVP, leading to increased blood pressure and renal vasoconstriction, with a reduction in renal water and electrolyte excretion.


2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (5) ◽  
pp. H1536-H1541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Lu ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Frank Blecha ◽  
Richard J. Fels ◽  
Heather P. Hoch ◽  
...  

We tested the hypothesis that intracerebroventricular (lateral ventricle) administration of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) antibody increases the level of sympathetic nerve discharge (SND) in α-chloralose-anesthetized rats. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and SND (splenic and renal) were recorded before (Preinfusion), during (25 min), and for 45 min after infusion of IL-1β antibody (15 μg, 50 μl icv) in baroreceptor-intact (intact) and sinoaortic-denervated (SAD) rats. The following observations were made. First, intracerebroventricular infusion of IL-1β antibody (but not saline and IgG) significantly increased MAP and the pressor response was higher in SAD compared with intact rats. Second, renal and splenic SND were significantly increased during and after intracerebroventricular IL-1β antibody infusion and sympathoexcitatory responses were higher in SAD compared with intact rats. Third, intracerebroventricular administration of a single dose of IL-1β antibody (15 μg, 5 μl for 2 min) significantly increased splenic and renal SND in intact rats. These results suggest that under the conditions of the present experiments central neural IL-1β plays a role in the tonic regulation of SND and arterial blood pressure.


1986 ◽  
Vol 251 (5) ◽  
pp. R909-R915 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Schadt ◽  
R. R. Gaddis

The hemodynamic and plasma catecholamine response to hypotensive hemorrhage and subsequent opioid receptor blockade with naloxone were evaluated before and after complete sinoaortic denervation (SAD). This study was done to test the general hypothesis that opioid-mediated failure of the baroreflex accounts for the hypotension of hemorrhage. The specific hypothesis we tested was that SAD would abolish the pressor effect of opioid receptor blockade with naloxone. The studies were done in conscious chronically prepared rabbits. Hemorrhage of 12 ml/kg did not change mean arterial blood pressure in intact animals due to a compensatory increase in heart rate and vascular resistance. When blood loss exceeded 12 ml/kg, pressure decreased abruptly due to a decrease in vascular resistance. Plasma norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) were higher after hemorrhage than before. Plasma E levels increased almost 70 times. After SAD, mean blood pressure began to decrease at the beginning of hemorrhage, the heart rate increase was abolished, and vascular resistance decreased throughout the blood loss. Plasma NE was no different after hemorrhage than before. Plasma E increased, but the increase was only fivefold. Naloxone increased mean arterial blood pressure, vascular resistance, cardiac index, and plasma NE before and after SAD. The increases in blood pressure and plasma norepinephrine were significantly greater after SAD. Therefore the pressor effect of naloxone in this model is not due to increased baroreflex sensitivity. Rather, intact baroreflexes buffer naloxone's effects.


Hypertension ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyndya A Shibao ◽  
Alejandro Marinos ◽  
Jorge E Celedonio ◽  
Luis E Okamoto ◽  
Amy C Arnold ◽  
...  

African American (AA) women have the highest prevalence of hypertension and obesity in the United States. We tested the hypothesis that sympathetic activity contributes to hypertension in obese AA women, as we previously shown to be the case in Caucasians. We studied 42 obese women (16 whites, body mass index (BMI) 36± 4 kg/m 2 , 44% with diagnosis of hypertension (HTN) and 26 AA, BMI 35± 4 kg/m 2 , 46% HTN). Anti-HTN medications were discontinued for 2 weeks prior to the study day. All subjects underwent complete autonomic blockade with the ganglionic blockade trimethaphan at doses of 4 mg/min. Autonomic blockade was evaluated by the lack of heart rate changes in response to ~25 mm Hg increase in blood pressure produced by a bolus infusion of the alpha 1 adrenergic agonist, phenylephrine and the decrease in norepinephrine levels. Results: Plasma norepinephrine significantly decreased during trimethaphan infusion (from baseline 253±1107 to 61±29 pg/ml, trimethaphan). The decrease in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) produced by trimethaphan was greater in obese HTN compared with normotensive (NTN) Caucasians (-27±10 vs. -15±8 mm Hg, P=0.016). In contrast, no difference in the decrease in MAP induced by trimethaphan was found between HTN and NTN obese AA women (-16±11 vs. -12±10, P=0.451, figure ). Heart rate increased similarly with trimethaphan between HTN and NTN caucasians (+9.1± 6 vs. 16± 9, P=0.109) and AA women (+22± 7 vs. 21±12 bpm, P=0.760). MAP remained elevated in HTN obese AA women during trimethaphan infusion (84±15 vs. 72±9.8 mm Hg in NTN AA, P=0.021). Conclusion: Sympathetic activity does not contribute to hypertension in AA women


2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (1) ◽  
pp. H190-H197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill M. Wecht ◽  
Joseph P. Weir ◽  
David S. Goldstein ◽  
Annmarie Krothe-Petroff ◽  
Ann M. Spungen ◽  
...  

Direct effects of vasoactive substances on blood pressure can be examined in individuals with tetraplegia due to disruption of descending spinal pathways to sympathetic preganglionic neurons, as cervical lesions interfere with baroreceptor reflex buffering of sympathetic outflow. In this study, we assessed effects of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) on mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and plasma norepinephrine concentrations in individuals with tetraplegia vs. effects shown in a neurologically intact control group. Seven individuals with tetraplegia and seven age-matched controls received, on separate visits and in the following order, placebo (30 ml normal saline) and 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/kg l-NAME intravenously over 60 min. Supine hemodynamic data were collected, and blood was sampled at the end of each infusion and at 120, 180, and 240 min thereafter. l-NAME increased mean arterial pressure, and the relative increase was greater in the tetraplegia group than in the control group. Heart rate was reduced after l-NAME administration in both groups. l-NAME decreased plasma norepinephrine in the control group but not in the group with tetraplegia. These findings suggest that reflexive sympathoinhibition normally buffers the pressor response to nitric oxide synthase inhibition, an effect that is not evident in individuals with tetraplegia as a result of decentralized sympathetic vasomotor control.


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