Key result
Mental arithmetic in young hypertensives is associated with increased plasma noradrenaline versus normotensives.
Why the study?
Does mental stress elicit a different sympathetic and cardiovascular response in patients with mild essential hypertension compared to normotensive subjects?
Observational (n=111)
Does mental stress elicit a different sympathetic and cardiovascular response in patients with mild essential hypertension compared to normotensive subjects?
Young patients with mild essential hypertension exhibit increased sympathetic reactivity to mental stress compared to normotensives, a difference that diminishes with age.
May indicate age-specific sympathetic hyperreactivity in young hypertensives; hypothesis-generating and leaves open longitudinal or interventional confirmation.
The response of blood pressure, heart rate and plasma catecholamines to a mental arithmetic and a cold pressor test was studied in 70 patients with mild essential hypertension and in 41 age- and sex-matched normotensives. Each group consisted of three prospectively stratified age classes: 20-29, 30-39 and 40-55 years. During mental arithmetic, hypertensives showed only a higher increment of systolic blood pressure (+17-19%) than normotensives (+12-15%). Plasma noradrenaline in the youngest normotensives (20-29 years) showed a small but significant decrease (-0.20 +/- 0.07 nmol/l) whereas the youngest hypertensives showed a small but significant increase of plasma noradrenaline (+0.14 +/- 0.04 nmol/l). The difference between both groups was highly significant (P less than 0.001). In the two older age classes there was no difference in plasma noradrenaline response between normo- and hypertensives. During the cold pressor test both the cardiovascular and plasma noradrenaline response were of the same magnitude in normo- and hypertensives. These data reinforce the concept that the increased sympathetic reactivity to mental stress in hypertensives may be restricted to the younger age.
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Lenders et al. (1989) conducted an observational in Mild essential hypertension (n=111). Mild essential hypertension vs. Normotension was evaluated on Change in plasma noradrenaline during mental arithmetic in subjects aged 20-29 years (p=<0.001). During mental arithmetic, young hypertensives (20-29 years) showed a significant increase in plasma noradrenaline (+0.14 nmol/l) compared to a decrease in normotensives (-0.20 nmol/l; P<0.001).
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