Mental Stress, Autonomic Function, and Heart Disease

January 8, 2016 updated by: Hebrew SeniorLife
To examine the vagal, vascular sympathetic, and mechno-structural components of baroreflex regulation in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and healthy age-matched controls during rest and acute laboratory stress.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND:

The strong association between mental stress and morbid cardiovascular events in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients may derive from stress-induced cardiac ischemia due to exaggerated increases in vascular resistance and arterial pressure. In fact, this may explain part of the prognostic relationship of baroreflex cardiac vagal control to cardiovascular outcome among CAD patients. The hemodynamic responses to psychological stress are buffered by the arterial baroreflex; thus, exaggerated pressor responses to mental stress may result from impaired baroreflex regulation in CAD patients.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

The study has three components. The first component characterizes the relationships between vascular stiffness and baroreflex regulation among CAD patients, also contrasting healthy control subjects with CAD patients. The second component examines, in relation to individual differences in pharmacologically derived estimates of baroreflex function, changes in autonomic and baroreflex control during laboratory psychological stress among CAD patients and among healthy control subjects. The third component tests the hypothesis that impaired baroreflex regulation in CAD patients, due to increased vascular stiffness and/or attenuated autonomic control, is associated with exacerbated hemodynamic reactions to psychological stress. Bolus vasoactive drug infusions in combination with Finapres beat-by-beat arterial pressures and carotid B-mode ultrasonography are used to evaluate baroreflex sensitivity and arterial stiffness. Baroreflex adjustments to psychological stress are assessed by power spectral-derived relations between arterial pressure and cardiac chronotropy during a mental arithmetic task and a speech task. The degree to which indices of baroreflex function are associated with hemodynamic responses to psychological stress among CAD patients is assessed.

Study Type

Observational

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

No older than 98 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

No eligibility criteria

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Andrew Taylor, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 1998

Study Completion

August 1, 2003

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 25, 2000

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 25, 2000

First Posted (Estimate)

May 26, 2000

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 12, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 8, 2016

Last Verified

July 1, 2005

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 5051
  • R01HL059332 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Heart Diseases

3
Subscribe