Stress-induced blood pressure reactivity and silent cerebrovascular disease

Exaggerated blood pressure (BP) responses to mental stress, an index of autonomic dysregulation, have been related to enhanced risk for stroke. This study examined cross-sectional relations of stress-induced BP reactivity to silent cerebrovascular disease assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in healthy older adults. Sixty-seven nondemented, community-dwelling older adults (ages 55 to 81; 75% male) free of major medical, neurological, or psychiatric disease, engaged in: (1) clinical assessment of resting systolic and diastolic BP; (2) assessment of systolic and diastolic BP responses to 3 laboratory-based mental stressors; and (3) MRI. MRIs were rated for small silent infarcts (> or =3 mm), infarct-like lesions (