Effect of Psychological Stress on Microcirculation Oscillations: Diagnostic Aspects.

Abstract

It has long been recognized that psychological stress contributes to heart disease. Prolonged psychological stress is now seen as an important risk factor for the entire vascular system. 1 However, there have been relatively few studies on the effects of psychological stress on the microcirculation. Psychological stress is associated with increased levels of norepinephrine in the circulation, which can cause microvascular vasoconstriction. Using laser Doppler flowmetry, healthy individuals with self-reported high levels of daily psychological stress have been found to show greater norepinephrine-induced vasoconstriction compared with healthy individuals with low stress. 2 Therefore, in this study, we consider microvascular flow perturbation caused by psychological stress as a reliable diagnostic method of stress assessment.