TY - JOUR
T1 - Muscle and skin sympathetic nerve traffic during physician and nurse blood pressure measurement
AU - Grassi, Guido
AU - Seravalle, Gino
AU - Buzzi, Silvia
AU - Magni, Laura
AU - Brambilla, Gianmaria
AU - Quarti-Trevano, Fosca
AU - Dell'Oro, Raffaella
AU - Mancia, Giuseppe
PY - 2013/6
Y1 - 2013/6
N2 - Objective: Previous studies have shown that blood pressure assessment by a nurse markedly attenuates the pressor and tachicardic responses triggered by the physician blood pressure measurement. Whether and to what extent this attenuation reflects a different pattern of the neuroadrenergic responses to doctor or nurse blood pressure evaluation is unknown. Methods: In 19 lean untreated mild essential hypertensive patients (age 39.1 ± 2.4 years, mean ± SEM), we measured beat-to-beat mean arterial pressure (Finapres), heart rate (ECG), and efferent postganglionic muscle and skin sympathetic nerve traffic [muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and skin sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA), respectively, by microneurography], before, during, and following a 10-min sphygmomanometric BP measurement by a doctor or by a nurse unfamiliar to the patients. Measurements were repeated at a 30-min interval to obtain, in separate periods, muscle and skin sympathetic nerve traffic recordings. Both the sequences (doctor vs. nurse and muscle vs. skin sympathetic nerve traffic) were randomized. Results: A doctor visit induced sudden, marked, and prolonged blood pressure and heart rate increases, accompanied by a muscle sympathetic nerve traffic inhibition (average response:-18.1 ± 4.3%, P <0.01) coupled with a skin sympathetic nerve traffic excitation (average response: +46.1 ± 5.5%, P <0.01). In contrast, a nurse visit elicited blood pressure and heart rate responses markedly and significantly reduced (-72.1 ± 11 and-81.7 ± 13% respectively, P <0.01) as compared with those seen during the doctorÊs visit. This was the case also for muscle and skin sympathetic neural responses (-44.3 ± 9 and-65.6 ± 13%, P <0.01). Conclusion: These data provide the first evidence that the blunted pressor and tachicardic responses to nurseÊs blood pressure measurements are accompanied by an attenuation of the adrenergic neural responses seen during the alerting reaction accompanying doctorÊs blood pressure measurement.
AB - Objective: Previous studies have shown that blood pressure assessment by a nurse markedly attenuates the pressor and tachicardic responses triggered by the physician blood pressure measurement. Whether and to what extent this attenuation reflects a different pattern of the neuroadrenergic responses to doctor or nurse blood pressure evaluation is unknown. Methods: In 19 lean untreated mild essential hypertensive patients (age 39.1 ± 2.4 years, mean ± SEM), we measured beat-to-beat mean arterial pressure (Finapres), heart rate (ECG), and efferent postganglionic muscle and skin sympathetic nerve traffic [muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and skin sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA), respectively, by microneurography], before, during, and following a 10-min sphygmomanometric BP measurement by a doctor or by a nurse unfamiliar to the patients. Measurements were repeated at a 30-min interval to obtain, in separate periods, muscle and skin sympathetic nerve traffic recordings. Both the sequences (doctor vs. nurse and muscle vs. skin sympathetic nerve traffic) were randomized. Results: A doctor visit induced sudden, marked, and prolonged blood pressure and heart rate increases, accompanied by a muscle sympathetic nerve traffic inhibition (average response:-18.1 ± 4.3%, P <0.01) coupled with a skin sympathetic nerve traffic excitation (average response: +46.1 ± 5.5%, P <0.01). In contrast, a nurse visit elicited blood pressure and heart rate responses markedly and significantly reduced (-72.1 ± 11 and-81.7 ± 13% respectively, P <0.01) as compared with those seen during the doctorÊs visit. This was the case also for muscle and skin sympathetic neural responses (-44.3 ± 9 and-65.6 ± 13%, P <0.01). Conclusion: These data provide the first evidence that the blunted pressor and tachicardic responses to nurseÊs blood pressure measurements are accompanied by an attenuation of the adrenergic neural responses seen during the alerting reaction accompanying doctorÊs blood pressure measurement.
KW - alerting reaction
KW - blood pressure measurement nurse
KW - doctor's visit
KW - sympathetic nervous system
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U2 - 10.1097/HJH.0b013e3283605c71
DO - 10.1097/HJH.0b013e3283605c71
M3 - Article
C2 - 23552126
AN - SCOPUS:84877579641
VL - 31
SP - 1131
EP - 1135
JO - Journal of Hypertension
JF - Journal of Hypertension
SN - 0263-6352
IS - 6
ER -