Age-related changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity in essential hypertension.

Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) was measured directly along with blood pressure at rest in 69 healthy women (20–79 yr old) and 76 age-matched healthy men (16–80 yr old). All were nonobese and normotensive. In the women and men the MSNA was positively correlated with age (women: y = 0.788 x − 5.418, r = 0.846, P < 0.0001; men: y = 0.452 x + 12.565, r = 0.751, P < 0.0001). The regression intercept of y was significantly lower ( P < 0.0001) in the women than in the men, and the regression slope was significantly steeper ( P < 0.0001) in the women. The MSNA was lower in women than in men among those <30 ( P = 0.0012), 30–39 ( P = 0.0126), and 40–49 yr old ( P = 0.0462) but was similar in women and men among those 50–59 ( P = 0.1911, NS) and ≥60 yr old ( P = 0.1739, NS). The results suggest that MSNA increases with age in women and men and that the activity is markedly lower in young women than in men but is markedly accelerated with age.

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Influence of Sex and Age on Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity of Healthy Normotensive Adults

Hypertension ◽

10.1161/hypertensionaha.120.15208 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 76 (3) ◽

pp. 997-1005 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Daniel A. Keir ◽

Mark B. Badrov ◽

George Tomlinson ◽

Catherine F. Notarius ◽

Derek S. Kimmerly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

Body Mass ◽

Sympathetic Nerve ◽

Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Systematic Change ◽

Burst Frequency ◽

Nerve Activity ◽

Age Related

As with blood pressure, age-related changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) may differ nonlinearly between sexes. Data acquired from 398 male (age: 39±17; range: 18–78 years [mean±SD]) and 260 female (age: 37±18; range: 18–81 years) normotensive healthy nonmedicated volunteers were analyzed using linear regression models with resting MSNA burst frequency as the outcome and the predictors sex, age, MSNA, blood pressure, and body mass index modelled with natural cubic splines. Age and body mass index contributed 41% and 11%, respectively, of MSNA variance in females and 23% and 1% in males. Overall, changes in MSNA with age were sigmoidal. At age 20, mean MSNA of males and females were similar, then diverged significantly, reaching in women a nadir at age 30. After 30, MSNA increased nonlinearly in both sexes. Both MSNA discharge and blood pressure were lower in females until age 50 (17±9 versus 25±10 bursts·min −1 ; P <1×10 −19 ; 106±11/66±8 versus 116±7/68±9 mm Hg; P <0.01) but converged thereafter (38±11 versus 35±12 bursts·min −1 ; P =0.17; 119±15/71±13 versus 120±13/72±9 mm Hg; P >0.56). Compared with age 30, MSNA burst frequency at age 70 was 57% higher in males but 3-fold greater in females; corresponding increases in systolic blood pressure were 1 (95% CI, −4 to 5) and 12 (95% CI, 6–16) mm Hg. Except for concordance in females beyond age 40, there was no systematic change with age in any resting MSNA-blood pressure relationship. In normotensive adults, MSNA increases after age 30, with ascendance steeper in women.

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High-Intensity Interval Training Decreases Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity in Men With Essential Hypertension and in Normotensive Controls

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2020.00841 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Svare Ehlers ◽

Yrsa Sverrisdottir ◽

Jens Bangsbo ◽

Thomas Petursson Gunnarsson

Keyword(s):

Essential Hypertension ◽

Sympathetic Nerve ◽

High Intensity ◽

Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Interval Training ◽

High Intensity Interval Training ◽

Nerve Activity ◽

High Intensity Interval

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GREATER AGE-RELATED INCREASE IN MUSCLE SYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY IN WOMEN IS NOT EXPLAINED BY ADIPOSITY

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise ◽

10.1097/00005768-200205001-00414 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 34 (5) ◽

pp. S75

Author(s):

D S. Day ◽

K L. Moreau ◽

D D. Christou ◽

D R. Seals ◽

P P. Jones

Keyword(s):

Sympathetic Nerve ◽

Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Nerve Activity ◽

Age Related ◽

Related Increase

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Abstract 125: Elevated Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity is Associated With Higher Aortic and Carotid Stiffness Independent of Blood Pressure in Women

Hypertension ◽

10.1161/hyp.70.suppl_1.125 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 70 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Seth W Holwerda ◽

Rachel E Luehrs ◽

Nealy A Wooldridge ◽

Lyndsey E DuBose ◽

Jess G Fiedorowicz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Arterial Stiffness ◽

Sympathetic Nerve ◽

Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Nerve Activity ◽

Arterial Blood ◽

Age Related ◽

Related Increase

Central arterial stiffness, a significant contributor to the development of hypertension and cardiovascular disease with aging, is linked to elevated muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in men. However, the extent to which MSNA is associated with central arterial stiffness in women is unknown. Given that the age-related increase in MSNA and arterial blood pressure (BP) occurs at a steeper rate among women compared to men, we tested the hypothesis that resting MSNA is more strongly correlated with central arterial stiffness in women than in men. Also, because of the parallel age-related increase in MSNA, we further hypothesized that the relation between MSNA and central arterial stiffness would not be independent of age. MSNA (microneurography), aortic stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, CFPWV), and carotid β-stiffness (carotid tonometry and ultrasound) were assessed in 54 healthy men (n=29; 19-72 yrs; 30 ± 1 kg/m 2 ; systolic BP: 128 ± 3 mmHg) and women (n=26; 26-64 yrs; 29 ± 2 kg/m 2 ; systolic BP: 116 ± 3 mmHg). No differences between men and women were observed for CFPWV (Men: 7.0 ± 0.3 vs. Women: 6.8 ± 0.4 mmHg, P=0.747) and carotid β-stiffness (Men: 7.6 ± 0.8 vs. Women: 7.6 ± 0.5 mmHg, P=0.975). Mean BP was lower in women compared to men (Men: 93 ± 3 vs. Women: 85 ± 2 mmHg, P=0.021) and MSNA tended to be lower in women compared to men (Men: 25 ± 3 vs. Women: 20 ± 2 bursts/min, P=0.091). After adjusting for mean BP and HR (partial correlation), CFPWV was significantly correlated with MSNA in men (R=0.44, P=0.021) and women (R=0.58, P=0.004). Interestingly, further adjustment for age abolished the association between CFPWV and MSNA in men (R=0.01, P=0.968), but not in women (R=0.43, P=0.046). A moderate relation between carotid β-stiffness and MSNA was observed in men (R=0.37, P=0.063) and women (R=0.44, P=0.034), but was abolished after adjusting for age (Men: R=-0.001, P=0.995; Women: R=0.26, P=0.245). These preliminary data demonstrate that MSNA is positively correlated with central arterial stiffness in women and men independent of BP. Furthermore, abolishment of the relation between MSNA and CFPWV in men only when adjusting for age suggests that the association between MSNA and central arterial stiffness may be more robust in women.

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