Enhanced Forearm Blood Flow During Mental Stress in Children of Hypertensive Parents

This study compared changes in forearm blood flow, forearm vascular resistance, blood pressure, and heart rate elicited by mental stress (mental arithmetic) in 12 adolescents with a hypertensive parent and 13 age-matched adolescents with normotensive parents. The two groups did not differ in resting...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. 1979) Tex. 1979), 1987-11, Vol.10 (5), p.544-549
Main Authors: ANDERSON, ERLING A, MAHONEY, LARRY T, LAUER, RONALD M, CLARKE, WILLIAM R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension
Biological and medical sciences
Blood and lymphatic vessels
Blood Pressure
Cardiology. Vascular system
Child
Clinical manifestations. Epidemiology. Investigative techniques. Etiology
Female
Forearm - blood supply
Heart Rate
Humans
Hypertension - genetics
Male
Medical sciences
Regional Blood Flow
Stress, Psychological - physiopathology
Vascular Resistance
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Summary:This study compared changes in forearm blood flow, forearm vascular resistance, blood pressure, and heart rate elicited by mental stress (mental arithmetic) in 12 adolescents with a hypertensive parent and 13 age-matched adolescents with normotensive parents. The two groups did not differ in resting forearm blood flow, forearm vascular resistance, heart rate, or blood pressure. During mental stress, children with a family history of hypertension had a significantly greater increase in forearm blood flow than did children of normotensive parents (+ 37.5 ± 8.0 vs +12.8 ± 7.5%; p < 0.05) and a trend toward reduced forearm vascular resistance (p = 0.08). Mental stress significantly increased systolic blood pressure (p < 0.0001), diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.001), and heart rate (p < 0.03) in both groups. The blood pressure and heart rate responses to stress were not significantly different between groups. There was no evidence of a prolonged response or a different pattern of recovery in children with a family history of hypertension. This study indicates that regional blood flow responses underlying similar blood pressure increases during mental stress may be different in adolescents with and without a family history of hypertension.
ISSN:0194-911X
1524-4563
DOI:10.1161/01.hyp.10.5.544