Behaviorally Elicited Heart Rate Reactivity and Atherosclerosis in Ovariectomized Cynomolgus Monkeys ( Macaca fascicularis )

It has been hypothesized that atherogenesis is accelerated among individuals who exhibit heightened cardiovascular reactions to psychologic stress. We have reported previously that the coronary atherosclerosis of cholesterol-fed, male and reproductively intact (premenopausal) female cynomolgus monkeys was exacerbated in animals that experienced the largest heart rate (HR) reactions to a fear-eliciting laboratory stressor. In this article, we report a similar relationship among 20 female monkeys that were rendered estrogen-deficient (by ovariectomy) and subsequently treated with replacement of both estrogen and progesterone. At the beginning of a 30-month study period, animals were fitted with ECG telemetry devices, and their HRs were recorded under baseline and stressed conditions. Stress HR measurements were obtained during a standard challenge involving threatened capture and physical handling of the animals. As part of a related experiment, monkeys were then ovariectomized and, for the remainder of the study, administered 17 beta-estradiol (continuously) and progesterone (cyclically) by subcutaneous Silastic implant (Dow Corning). Animals consumed a cholesterol-containing diet throughout, and HR measurements were repeated in the 24th month. At necropsy, the magnitude of animals' HR responses to stress correlated significantly with intimal area measurements in the left anterior descending and circumflex coronary arteries (r = .59 and r = .57, respectively; P < .009). This association was due to a marked exacerbation of coronary atherosclerosis in animals comprising the upper third of the reactivity distribution. Although total and HDL cholesterol concentrations also covaried with HR reactivity, the greater atherosclerosis of "high" HR reactors persisted after statistical adjustment for concomitant variability in plasma lipids. HR reactivity was unrelated to blood pressure, body weight, or social behavior.