Blood pressure stress reactivity and left ventricular mass in a random community sample of African-American and caucasian men and women.
Exaggerated blood pressure (BP) reactivity to stress may contribute to left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity. This study examined the extent to which BP responses to acute stress are associated with LV mass and relative wall thickness in a community sample of African-American and white men and women. BP was measured at rest and in response to 2 acute challenges (mental arithmetic and handgrip). Systolic BP at rest was positively associated with LV mass and relative wall thickness (p < 0.001). The associations between the responses to the stressors and LV mass were not significant. African-American and white men who exhibited high BP responses to the arithmetic stressor had greater relative wall thickness than those with low reactivity (p < 0.05). In conclusion, BP reactivity is not related to LV mass, but may be related to concentric remodeling.
al'Absi
Mustafa
M
Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, Minnesota, USA. malabsi@umn.edu
Devereux
Richard B
RB
Rao
D C
DC
Kitzman
Dalane
D
Oberman
Al
A
Hopkins
Paul
P
Arnett
Donna K
DK
D001741:Black or African American; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D044465:White People