Behavior, sympathetic nervous system, and arterial hypertension
Malliani, A.
Cardiologia 38(12 Suppl 1: 411-414
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0393-1978 PMID: 8020043 Document Number: 418837
The discharge of sympathetic and vagal outflows appears regulated, in general, by a reciprocal interaction, that is to say that the increased activity of one component is accompanied by the decreased activity of the other. A sympathetic excitation can depend on central neural mechanisms, on peripheral excitatory reflexes and on a reduced inhibition exerted by inhibitory reflex mechanisms. Behavioral studies can reveal conditions associated with an increased sympathetic activity and with an augmented arterial pressure. The use of a spectral methodology applied to the study of cardiovascular variability allows the quantification, on the whole, of the state of sympatho-vagal balance: in the course of essential arterial hypertension this equilibrium appears shifted towards a sympathetic predominance.