Enhanced forearm blood flow during mental stress in children of hypertensive parents

This study compared changes in forearm blood flow, forearm vascular resistance, blood pressure, and heart rate elicited by mental stress (mental arithmetic) in 12 adolescents with a hypertensive parent and 13 age-matched adolescents with normotensive parents. The two groups did not differ in resting forearm blood flow, forearm vascular resistance, heart rate, or blood pressure. During mental stress, children with a family history of hypertension had a significantly greater increase in forearm blood flow than did children of normotensive parents (+37.5 +/- 8.0 vs +12.8 +/- 7.5%; p less than 0.05) and a trend toward reduced forearm vascular resistance (p = 0.08). Mental stress significantly increased systolic blood pressure (p less than 0.0001), diastolic blood pressure (p less than 0.001), and heart rate (p less than 0.03) in both groups. The blood pressure and heart rate responses to stress were not significantly different between groups. There was no evidence of a prolonged response or a different pattern of recovery in children with a family history of hypertension. This study indicates that regional blood flow responses underlying similar blood pressure increases during mental stress may be different in adolescents with and without a family history of hypertension.