Regulation of myocardial blood flow response to mental stress in healthy individuals (original) (raw)

2000, American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology

Mental stress testing has been proposed as a noninvasive tool to evaluate endothelium-dependent coronary vasomotion. In patients with coronary artery disease, mental stress can induce myocardial ischemia. However, even the determinants of the physiological myocardial blood flow (MBF) response to mental stress are poorly understood. Twenty-four individuals (12 males/12 females, mean age 49 ± 13 yr, range 31–74 yr) with a low likelihood for coronary artery disease were studied. Serum catecholamines, cardiac work, and MBF (measured quantitatively with N-13 ammonia and positron emission tomography) were assessed. During mental stress (arithmetic calculation) MBF increased significantly from 0.70 ± 0.14 to 0.92 ± 0.21 ml ⋅ min−1⋅ g−1( P < 0.01). Mental stress caused significant increases ( P < 0.01) in serum epinephrine (26 ± 16 vs. 42 ± 17 pg/ml), norepinephrine (272 ± 139 vs. 322 ± 136 pg/ml), and cardiac work [rate-pressure product (RPP) 8,011 ± 1,884 vs. 10,416 ± 2,711]. Stress...

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