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Hypertension
Published in Gia Merlo, Kathy Berra, Lifestyle Nursing, 2023
Matthew Petersen, Steven Brady, Eileen M. Handberg, Monica Aggarwal
Stress is detrimental to overall physical health and is becoming an increasingly identified contributor to the development of hypertension. Stress stimulates the sympathetic nervous system to secrete large amounts of catecholamines, such as epinephrine, which cause systemic vasoconstriction and subsequently elevated BP (Kulkarni et al., 1998). We typically think of the sympathetic nervous system as the primary driver of the “fight or flight” response. Alternatively, the parasympathetic nervous system, primarily responsible for the body’s “rest and digest” functions, offsets the sympathetic nervous system by reducing levels of circulating catecholamines. With chronic stress, the human body is heavily shifted toward a sympathetic-predominant state, and over time this leads to chronically elevated levels of catecholamines and subsequently elevated BP (Aggarwal et al., 2017). Several techniques can reduce stress and allow the body to shift its autonomic balance in favor of the “rest and digest” phase.
Naturopathic Medicine and the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease
Published in Stephen T. Sinatra, Mark C. Houston, Nutritional and Integrative Strategies in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2022
One method to calm an overactive sympathetic nervous system is to increase parasympathetic tone. Many mind-body therapies including Tai chi, Qi gong, Yoga, biofeedback, and meditation and/or slow belly breathing help reduce stress by activating parasympathetic pathways. When practiced regularly, these therapies can have a profound impact on the quality of life, and can reduce blood pressure as well. These mind-body therapies have a common denominator: meditation through habitual breathing. Learning how to breathe, and building awareness around breathing exercises, is likely why these therapies are beneficial for lowering blood pressure; breathing encourages parasympathetic tone in the body which in turn supports heart rate variability. Increasing heart rate variability is a major prognosticator in protecting cardiovascular health.73
Ayurveda and COVID-19
Published in Srijan Goswami, Chiranjeeb Dey, COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, 2022
The parasympathetic nervous system is mainly the peacetime nervous system. It conserves energy and restores normalcy. The heart rate is slowed down, blood pressure is reduced, and the blood supply is directed to the digestive system. It ensures a proper supply of digestive juices like saliva, gastric juice, intestinal juices, and bile for digestion. Nutrition absorbed from digestion is taken to the liver for processing and then carried to all the organs. The parasympathetic system aids the functions of renovation, rejuvenation, and reconstruction. The parasympathetic nervous system uses acetylcholine as its neurotransmitter.
Perspectives of Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit Interventions Among Women with Substance Use Disorder: A Qualitative Study
Published in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 2023
Eva Nowakowski-Sims, Stephen Ferrante
Meditation, a mindfulness practice, can stimulate mental awareness and emotional calmness. During meditation, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated introducing a relaxation response. In the relaxation response state, individuals evoke a quiet body and calm mind with concomitant physiological effects opposite to the stress response (Chang et al., 2010). Using meditation as an adjunct intervention for SUD involves teaching residents to “respond” to situations that may trigger use or rumination through present moment focus rather than acting or reacting in a habitual manner (Witkiewitz & Bowen, 2010). Bowen et al. (2009) found that participants who used a meditation-focused intervention had significantly fewer days of drug use as well as significant reductions in craving months after completion of treatment. Witkiewitz et al. (2013) investigated the effect of a meditation focused intervention compared to relapse prevention standard treatment among women offenders in residential substance use treatment and found the meditation group showed significantly fewer days of drug use compared to individuals assigned to relapse prevention.
Neuropathogenesis of HIV and emerging therapeutic targets
Published in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 2022
Alina Siddiqui, Celestine He, Gina Lee, Alex Figueroa, Alexander Slaughter, Jessica Robinson-Papp
Acetylcholine is the main neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system and is also used by preganglionic neurons within the SNS. Acetylcholine is degraded in synapses by acetylcholinesterase, thus peripherally acting acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, such as pyridostigmine, have been proposed as a means of augmenting neurotransmission in autonomic neuropathies. Our group conducted a pilot study of pyridostigmine in PLWH treated with cART who had small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which is a common correlate of autonomic neuropathy in HIV presumably due to alteration of motility and immune function in the gut. We found that pyridostigmine substantially decreased SIBO as well as plasma levels of the inflammatory biomarkers TNFα and sCD14 [127]. Additionally, other investigators have demonstrated that the addition of pyridostigmine to cART significantly increased CD4+ T-cells [128].
Heart rate variability and chronotype – a systematic review
Published in Chronobiology International, 2021
Kirsi Honkalampi, Susanna Järvelin-Pasanen, Mika P. Tarvainen, Terhi Saaranen, Anneli Vauhkonen, Saana Kupari, Merja Perkiö-Mäkelä, Kimmo Räsänen, Tuula Oksanen
The results suggest that circadian rhythm is based mainly on biological differences between individuals and is highly hereditary (Fischer et al. 2017). While heart rate (HR) defines the number of heart beats per minute, heart rate variability (HRV) measures the beat-to-beat changes in time intervals between successive heart beats at millisecond resolution (Van Ravenswaaij-Arts et al. 1993). HRV is commonly monitored to assess the function of the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) (Malik et al. 1996; Van Ravenswaaij-Arts et al. 1993). In general, the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system tends to decrease HR and increase HRV, whereas sympathetic nervous activity typically has the opposite effect. However, sympathetic activation is known to affect the low frequency (LF) component of HRV and an increase in sympathetic activation may sometimes increase LF power (Malik et al. 1996).