title: Blood pressure hyperreactivity:  an early cardiovascular risk in normotensive men exposed to low-to-moderate inorganic arsenic in drinking water.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Essential hypertension is associated with chronic exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic in drinking water. However, early signs of risk for developing hypertension remain unclear in people exposed to chronic low-to-moderate inorganic arsenic.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated cardiovascular stress reactivity and recovery in healthy, normotensive, middle-aged men living in an arsenic-endemic region of Romania.
  
  
  METHODS
  Unexposed (n = 16) and exposed (n = 19) participants were sampled from communities based on WHO limits for inorganic arsenic in drinking water (<10 μg/l). Water sources and urine samples were collected and analyzed for inorganic arsenic and its metabolites. Functional evaluation of blood pressure included clinical, anticipatory, cold pressor test, and recovery measurements. Blood pressure hyperreactivity was defined as a combined stress-induced change in SBP (> 20 mmHg) and DBP (>15 mmHg).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drinking water inorganic arsenic averaged 40.2 ± 30.4 and 1.0 ± 0.2 μg/l for the exposed and unexposed groups, respectively (P < 0.001). Compared to the unexposed group, the exposed group expressed a greater probability of blood pressure hyperreactivity to both anticipatory stress (47.4 vs. 12.5%; P = 0.035) and cold stress (73.7 vs. 37.5%; P = 0.044). Moreover, the exposed group exhibited attenuated blood pressure recovery from stress and a greater probability of persistent hypertensive responses (47.4 vs. 12.5%; P = 0.035).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Inorganic arsenic exposure increased stress-induced blood pressure hyperreactivity and poor blood pressure recovery, including persistent hypertensive responses in otherwise healthy, clinically normotensive men. Drinking water containing even low-to-moderate inorganic arsenic may act as a sympathetic nervous system trigger for hypertension risk.
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kunrath
authors.forename: Eugen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gurzau
authors.forename: Anca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gurzau
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Goessler
authors.forename: Elyssa R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Gelmann
authors.forename: Thu-Trang
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Thach
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McCarty
authors.forename: Catherine W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Yeckel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000633:toxicity*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005080:Exercise Test; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D001151:Arsenic