Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-HEART AND CIRCULATORY PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 323, Issue 6, Pages H1311-H1322Publisher
AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00261.2022
Keywords
autonomic; cardiovascular; cold pressor test; common carotid artery; spinal cord injury
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to impaired common carotid artery (CCA) responsiveness and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to autonomic cardiovascular dysfunction that underlies the three-to fourfold elevated risk of cardiovascular disease in this population. Reduced common carotid artery (CCA) dilatory responsiveness during the cold-pressor test (CPT) is associated with greater cardiovascular disease risk and progression. The cardiovascular and CCA responses to the CPT may provide insight into cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction and cardiovascular disease risk in individu-als with cervical SCI. Here, we used CPT to perturb the autonomic nervous system in 14 individuals with cervical SCI and 12 unin-jured controls, while measuring cardiovascular responses and CCA diameter. The CCA diameter responses were 55% impaired in those with SCI compared with uninjured controls (P = 0.019). The CCA flow, velocity, and shear response to CPT were reduced in SCI by 100% (P < 0.001), 113% (P = 0.001), and 125% (P = 0.002), respectively. The association between mean arterial pressure and CCA dilation observed in uninjured individuals (r = 0.54, P = 0.004) was absent in the SCI group (r = 0.22, P = 0.217). Steady-state systolic blood pressure (P = 0.020), heart rate (P = 0.003), and cardiac contractility (P < 0.001) were reduced in those with cervical SCI, whereas total peripheral resistance was increased compared with uninjured controls (P = 0.042). Relative cerebral blood velocity responses to CPT were increased in the SCI group and reduced in controls (middle cerebral ar -tery, P = 0.010; posterior cerebral artery, P = 0.026). The CCA and cardiovascular responsiveness to CPT are impaired in those with cervical SCI.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available