Neurovascular Control and Blood Pressure Regulation in Humans

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of HL-83947 is to explore sympathetic regulation of blood pressure (BP) in humans. As a result of observations made over the last 5 years our renewal application is focused on novel ideas about the sympathetic nervous system and the rise in BP in postmenopausal women. It is well known that women have lower BP than men in early adulthood. However, this protection disappears at menopause, after which women have an accelerating risk of hypertension compared to men of similar age. Along these lines, we propose that there is a BP raising "double hit" in postmenopausal women that includes loss of ß-adrenergic vasodilation which normally offsets α-adrenergic constriction in young women coupled with an age related rise in sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity. Together these factors cause a sympathetically mediated rise in blood pressure after menopause. In this context, the major ideas underpinning this application are: 1) after menopause there is a marked reduction in the NO component of ß-adrenergic vasodilation; 2) this loss of ß-adrenergic vasodilation along with age related increases in sympathetic activity leads to increased sympathetic support of BP in postmenopausal women; 3) these age related changes are caused in part by a loss of female reproductive hormones at menopause and can be attenuated by Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT); and 4) they can also be mitigated by regular exercise which can restore endothelial function and may reduce sympathetic activity in postmenopausal women. To address these ideas we will use an ensemble of experimental tools developed and mastered in our laboratory to explore the following specific aims: Aim 1 will test whether forearm vasodilation to isoproterenol is blunted in postmenopausal women compared to young women, and whether this blunted vasodilation is due to a loss of the nitric oxide (NO) mediated component of ß-adrenergic vasodilation. Aim 2 will test whether sympathetic support of blood pressure is related to MSNA in young and postmenopausal women. We will measure MSNA and arterial pressure before and during ganglionic blockade with trimethaphan. Aim 3 will test whether exercise training augments endothelial and ß-adrenergic vasodilation and limits sympathetic support of blood pressure in postmenopausal women. We will also explore how training interacts with MHT. Importantly, most ideas about sympathetic and endothelial control of BP have undergone minimal or no direct testing in women and our preliminary data clearly show the need for more data especially in postmenopausal women. Since blood pressure control is a biomedically significant issue, the studies we propose are highly relevant to public health and also designed to provide basic mechanistic insight into an important and poorly understood cardiovascular risk factor in women.