Key result
Long-term mental stress (vital exhaustion) combined with lower heart rate reactivity to acute stress was associated with greater carotid intima-media thickness in men aged 28-37 years.
Why the study?
Does the interaction between vital exhaustion and cardiac stress reactivity affect carotid intima-media thickness in young adults?
Observational
Does the interaction between vital exhaustion and cardiac stress reactivity affect carotid intima-media thickness in young adults?
Long-term stress assessed by vital exhaustion may increase the risk of preclinical atherosclerosis primarily when associated with ineffective cardiac stress reactivity or autonomic imbalance.
May flag higher preclinical atherosclerosis risk in stressed young men with blunted reactivity; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation.
The present study examined the interaction between vital exhaustion and cardiac reactivity and recovery on preclinical atherosclerosis assessed by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in young men and women. We measured heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and pre-ejection period (PEP) in response to mental arithmetic and speech tasks. Vital exhaustion and carotid IMT were also measured. Significant associations were observed for men aged 28-37 years, but not for men aged 22-25 years, nor for women in these age groups. It was shown that, among highly exhausted men in the older age group, lower HR reactivity was related to greater IMT. Our results also imply that, among non-exhausted men in this age group, slow HR and RSA recovery after acute stress predicted higher IMT. These results suggest that long-term stress as assessed by vital exhaustion is a risk only if it has resulted in ineffective cardiac stress reactivity. Autonomic imbalance resulting from chronic stress may be the common mechanism linking vital exhaustion and cardiac responsiveness to an increased risk of atherosclerosis.
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Chumaeva et al. (2008) conducted an observational in Preclinical atherosclerosis. Long-term mental stress (vital exhaustion) and cardiac stress reactivity vs. Low vital exhaustion and normal cardiac stress reactivity was evaluated on Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Long-term mental stress (vital exhaustion) combined with lower heart rate reactivity to acute stress was associated with greater carotid intima-media thickness in men aged 28-37 years.
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