Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Cardiovascular response to stress and perceived stress is not altered 40 years after hypertensive pregnancies
Anna-Clara Collén1, Helena Gustafsson, Margareta Hellgren
1Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine/Cardiology, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital , Gothenburg , Sweden .
Objective:
Women experiencing hypertensive pregnancies have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Whether stress increase the risk is unknown. The objective was to test if cardiovascular response to stress and/or perceived stress differed in relation to blood pressure status during pregnancy 40 years earlier.
Methods:
Cardiovascular response was examined with mental stress test, and perceived stress was evaluated with a questionnaire in 105 women.
Results:
Resting heart rate was higher, and pulse reactivity was lower in women with previous hypertensive pregnancies. Neither blood pressure nor perceived stress differed.
Conclusion:
Response to physical or psychological stress is not affected many years after pregnancy.
Related Concept Videos
Psychological Responses to Stress
Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis
Hypertension II: Pathophysiology
Physiological Foundation of Stress
Role of the Sympathetic Nervous System
Adrenaline triggers the...
Psychoneuroimmunology: Cardiovascular Disease
A key area of focus in PNI is the relationship between stress and coronary...
Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle

