Abstract
Rationale: Paroxetine may decrease mental stress-induced cardiovascular responses and so benefit individuals with heart disease, even those with no psychiatric illness. Objectives: The effects of paroxetine on cardiovascular measures during a speech task were evaluated in psychiatrically healthy subjects with a history of coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: Eight subjects completed this double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study in which each subject took 1 month of paroxetine and 4 weeks of placebo in random order. While on each study, medication, blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma norepinephrine concentrations were measured during a period of relaxation and during a mental stressor. The mental stressor consisted of thinking about a stressful topic, speaking about the topic, and listening to a tape-recorded replay of the speech. Results: While on paroxetine, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were 10-15% lower (p<0.005) during the stressor, relative to measures obtained while on placebo. Pulse and plasma norepinephrine concentrations during stress trended lower during paroxetine treatment but did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: Paroxetine has antihypertensive properties during periods of psychological stress in psychiatrically healthy subjects with a history of CAD, and so should be evaluated for potential cardio-protective qualities.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 321-326 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Psychopharmacology |
Volume | 182 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2005 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgements Supported in part by a grant from the Foundation of Hope, Raleigh, NC, and by a grant from the General Clinical Research Centers program of the Division of Research Resources National Institutes of Health (RR00046).
Keywords
- Cardioprotection
- Coronary disease
- Depression
- Hypertension
- Mental stress
- Paroxetine
- Reactivity
- SSRI