Acute cardiovascular and hemodynamic effects of vagus nerve stimulation in conscious hypertensive rats

Elizabeth M. Annoni, Elena G. Tolkacheva

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hypertension (HTN) affects over 1 billion people worldwide, with a significant number who are unable to control their blood pressure (BP) with conventional therapies. Recently, novel device-based therapies targeting the autonomic nervous system have been evaluated for treating HTN, including vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). Numerous studies have indicated the beneficial effects of chronic VNS in various models of HTN, however the acute effects of VNS on physiological responses have not been widely investigated. To better understand the acute effects of VNS, this study evaluates cardiovascular and hemodynamic responses from conscious hypertensive rats implanted with VNS stimulators and physiological telemeters for simultaneous monitoring of BP and heart rate (HR) as therapy is applied. We demonstrated that there are no acute changes in mean BP, HR and contractility measures as a result of VNS stimulation. However, there were significant increases in both HR variability and BP variability during VNS, which returned to baseline levels immediately at the cessation of therapy. The small acute changes observed during intermittent VNS could be additive, leading to beneficial chronic changes in BP and HR control, and may help in furthering the understanding of beneficial effects demonstrated in chronic use of VNS therapy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2018
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages3685-3688
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9781538636466
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 26 2018
Event40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2018 - Honolulu, United States
Duration: Jul 18 2018Jul 21 2018

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS
Volume2018-July
ISSN (Print)1557-170X

Other

Other40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityHonolulu
Period7/18/187/21/18

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
*Research supported by National Institute of Health R21HL128790 (EGT), National Science Foundation CAREER PHY-125541 and DCSD 1662250 (EGT), Neuromodulation Fellowship (EMA), as well as support from Cyberonics Inc..

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 IEEE.

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