Mental stress and hypertension, an evolutionary framework: some historical perspectives of the 1960 World Health Organization Prague Hypertension Meeting.
Emotional stress acutely and repetitively causing blood pressure increase or aggravating existing hypertension is usually not reflected by norepinephrine and epinephrine increase but by a sudden rise of dopamine, the third "defensive" catecholamine coping with the damaging neuropsychological and cardiovascular actions of the first two. This double-edged sympathetic response to emotional stress evolves during human lifespan and long-term evolution of hypertension. In the course of philogenesis it carries a potential mismatch between the normal physiology of the human dopaminergic system and current environmental (emotional particularly) conditions in industrialized countries. This offers a rational support to a mental stress-cardiovascular diseases relationship proposed 40 years ago in a WHO report which followed a memorable 1960 Prague Hypertension Meeting.
Kuchel
Otto
O
University of Montreal, 34 Kenaston Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3R 1L8. okuchel@videotron.ca
D018153:Czech Republic; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000266:history* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000266:history* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014944:World Health Organization / Q000266:history
D004298:Dopamine