Polycystic ovary syndrome potentiates blood pressure and vascular responses to the cold pressor test.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) predisposes women to cardiovascular diseases. Blood pressure (BP) responses to the cold pressor test (CPT) predict future cardiovascular risk but have yet to be characterized in PCOS. Therefore, we compared BP responses to the CPT between females with PCOS [ = 10; age: 22 ± 3 yr, body mass index (BMI): 23.

Sympathetic determinants of resting blood pressure in males and females.

Discharge of postganglionic muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) is related poorly to blood pressure (BP) in adults. Whether neural measurements beyond the prevailing level of MSNA can account for interindividual differences in BP remains unclear. The current study sought to evaluate the relative contributions of sympathetic-BP transduction and sympathetic baroreflex gain on resting BP in young adults.

Limb-specific muscle sympathetic nerve activity responses to the cold pressor test.

Recent studies have demonstrated that muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) responses to isometric exercise differs between active and inactive limbs. Whether limb-dependent responses are characteristic of responses to the cold pressor test (CPT) remains to be established. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that CPT-induced MSNA responses differ between affected and unaffected limbs such that MSNA in the affected lower limb is greater than MSNA responses in the contralateral lower limb and the upper limb.