DOES LOW-FREQUENCY POWER OF ARTERIAL BLOOD-PRESSURE REFLECT SYMPATHETIC TONE

We tested whether power spectral analysis of arterial blood pressure ( ABP) is a feasible tool to detect differences in peripheral sympatheti c nerve activity in normotensive and hypertensive rats with differing basal sympathetic tones. Nine Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY), 10 Sprague-Dawl ey rats (SD), 10 spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and 9 hypertens ive transgenic rats harbouring the mouse Ren-a gene (TGR) were chronic ally instrumented with femoral artery catheters and nerve electrodes a round the sympathetic major splanchnic nerve. Two days after surgery A BP and splanchnic nerve activity (SpNA) were recorded in the conscious state during basal conditions as well as during cr,-adrenergic recept or blockade. Power spectra and squared coherence in the low (LF, 0.02- 0.20 Hz), mid (MF, 0.20-0.80 Hz) and high (HF, respiration peak +/- 0. 3 Hz) frequency bands were calculated for ABP and SpNA. Mean blood pre ssure in SHR (133 +/- 8 mmHg) and TGR (142 +/- 8 mmHg) was significant ly higher (P < 0.05) than in WKY (115 +/- 3 mmHg) and SD (95 +/- 4 mmH g). SpNA in SHR was higher than in WKY (23.4 +/- 6.4 mu V vs. 11.6 +/- 0.8 mu V, P < 0.05) while SpNA in TGR was lower than in SD (20.1 +/- 3.9 mu V vs. 28.8 +/- 4.2 mu V, P < 0.05). LF and MF components of ABP variability were not significantly higher in those rats with high sym pathetic tones. However, alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor blockade reduced LF and MF components of ABP and SpNA in all strains except SHR. LF an d MF coherence was not greater in rats with high sympathetic tones tha n in those with low sympathetic tones. The reduction of LF and MF comp onents of ABP variability by alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor blockade ind icates an important contribution of peripheral sympathetic nerve activ ity to LF and MF blood pressure variability on an acute basis. However , the lack of higher LF and MF power in the ABP spectra of those rats with high SpNA together with the finding that LF and MF coherence was not higher in those rats with high SpNA led to the conclusion that LF and MF spectral components of ABP do not appear to be suitable markers for the prevailing sympathetic nerve activity.