P-288: Mental stress has an unfavorable effect on aortic stiffness and wave reflection

Large artery stiffness and wave reflection are important prognosticators of cardiovascular risk and are involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Mental stress has been linked to increased morbidity and mortality, however, its effect on arterial elastic properties has not been defined. We studied 10 healthy volunteers (age 28±3 years) in a randomized, double-blind, crossover fashion (mental stress for 3 minutes and placebo). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity was measured as an index of aortic stiffness using a validated non-invasive device (Complior®). Wave reflection was studied using a validated system (Sphygmocor®) that employs (i) high-fidelity arterial tonometry (Millar tonometer) for the non-invasive registration of radial pulse waveform and (ii) appropriate computer software for pulse wave analysis. Aortic pressure waveform was synthesized from the radial waveform using a generalized transfer function. Augmentation index was measured as an index of wave reflection. Mental stress led to a substantial increase in pulse wave velocity (by 0.40 m/sec, P