Background: The aim of this study was to examine the influences of genetic predisposition to hypertension and of age on the sympathetic nervous system response to the cold pressor test (CPT).
Methods: A total of 32 young subjects (aged 27 +/- 2 years) were studied: 11 normotensive subjects without a family history of hypertension (FH), 14 normotensive subjects with a strong family history of hypertension (FH+), and eight hypertensive subjects. In addition, 21 older subjects (aged 53 +/- 2 years) were studied: 13 hypertensive and eight normotensive subjects. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) were recorded at rest and during a 2-min period of a CPT.
Results: Both young and older hypertensive subjects had higher resting MSNA than did the normotensive ones (47 +/- 7 v 29 +/- 4 bursts per 100 heartbeats (P < .05) and 66 +/- 4 v 40 +/- 7 bursts per 100 heartbeats (P < .01), respectively). The CPT resulted in HR increases of similar magnitude in all groups of patients. The FH+ group displayed slightly less increase in systolic BP than that of the FH- group (P < .05). The MSNA increased to a far greater degree in FH- (103%) than in FH+ (32%) and in young hypertensive patients (12%) (P < .05). Similarly, MSNA change with the CPT was greater in older normotensive subjects than in older hypertensive patients (61% v 12%, P < .05).
Conclusions: Our results show that a CPT induces sympathetic responses that are subnormal in hypertensive patients and those with a family history of hypertension, highlighting the importance of genetic factors in determining the sympathetic nervous reactivity to CPT.