title: Regulation of myocardial blood flow response to mental stress in healthy individuals.
abstract: 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 x min(-1) x 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-induced changes in cardiac work were correlated with changes in MBF (r = 0.72; P < 0.01). Multiple-regression analysis revealed stress-induced changes in the RPP as the only significant (P = 0.0001) predictor for the magnitude of mental stress-induced increases in MBF in healthy individuals. Data from this group of healthy individuals should prove useful to investigate coronary vasomotion in individuals at risk for or with documented coronary artery disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Ahmanson Biological Imaging Clinic, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schöder
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campisi
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Sayre
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Phelps
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Schelbert
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Czernin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000641:Ammonia; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000503:physiopathology; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009590:Nitrogen Radioisotopes; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D012016:Reference Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014655:Vascular Resistance
chemical_list: D009590:Nitrogen Radioisotopes; D000641:Ammonia; D002784:Cholesterol; D009638:Norepinephrine; D004837:Epinephrine