Key result
Elevated resting blood pressure was associated with higher resting MSNA burst frequency (22 vs 16 bursts/min, P=0.036) and blunted cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity compared to normotensives.
Why the study?
Elevated resting blood pressure in the prehypertensive range increases cardiovascular disease risk, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
Does elevated resting blood pressure associate with higher sympathetic nervous system activity, impaired arterial baroreflex sensitivity, and increased vascular inflammation compared to normotension?
Cross-Sectional (n=29)
Does elevated resting blood pressure associate with higher sympathetic nervous system activity, impaired arterial baroreflex sensitivity, and increased vascular inflammation compared to normotension?
Absolute Event Rate: 22% vs 16%
p-value: p=0.036
Individuals with elevated resting blood pressure exhibit sympathetic nervous system overactivity and impaired arterial baroreflex sensitivity that correlate with biomarkers of vascular inflammation.
ERBP links SNS overactivity to vascular inflammation; leaves open whether SNS modulation alters prehypertension progression.
Elevated Resting Blood Pressure (ERBP) in the prehypertensive range is associated with increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, the mechanisms of which remain unclear. Prior studies have suggested that ERBP may be associated with overactivation and dysregulation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). We hypothesized that compared to normotensives (≤120/80 mmHg), ERBP (120/80-139/89 mmHg) has higher SNS activity, impaired arterial baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and increased vascular inflammation. Twenty-nine participants were studied: 16 otherwise healthy individuals with ERBP (blood pressure (BP) 130 ± 2/85 ± 2 mmHg) and 13 matched normotensive controls (mean BP 114 ± 2/73 ± 2 mmHg). We measured muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), beat-to-beat BP, and continuous electrocardiogram at rest and during arterial BRS testing via the modified Oxford technique. Blood was analyzed for the following biomarkers of vascular inflammation: lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), E-selectin, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1). Resting MSNA burst frequency (22 ± 2 vs. 16 ± 2 bursts/min, P = 0.036) and burst incidence (36 ± 3 vs. 25 ± 3 bursts/100 heart beats, P = 0.025) were higher in ERBP compared to controls. Cardiovagal BRS was blunted in ERBP compared to controls (13 ± 2 vs. 20 ± 3 msec/mmHg, P = 0.032), while there was no difference in sympathetic BRS between groups. Lp-PLA2 (169 ± 8 vs. 142 ± 9 nmol/min/mL, P = 0.020) and E-selectin (6.89 ± 0.6 vs. 4.45 ± 0.51 ng/mL, P = 0.004) were higher in ERBP versus controls. E-selectin (r = 0.501, P = 0.011) and ICAM-1 (r = 0.481, P = 0.015) were positively correlated with MSNA, while E-selectin was negatively correlated with cardiovagal BRS (r = -0.427, P = 0.030). These findings demonstrate that individuals with ERBP have SNS overactivity and impaired arterial BRS that are linked to biomarkers of vascular inflammation.
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Fonkoue et al. (2019) conducted a cross-sectional in Elevated Resting Blood Pressure (n=29). Elevated resting blood pressure vs. Normotensive controls was evaluated on Resting MSNA burst frequency (p=0.036). Elevated resting blood pressure was associated with higher resting MSNA burst frequency (22 vs 16 bursts/min, P=0.036) and blunted cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity compared to normotensives.
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