Coronary arteries remodelling following chronic stress in rats

Research has shown that healthy individuals with no known cardiovascular risk factors who experience a stressful life are likely to develop cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, stress can be one of the most important risk factors involved in cardiovascular diseases. This study evaluated the possible effects of chronic stress induced by obligatory swimming and noise on coronary arteries histological changes.

In this experimental trial, male Wistar rats were exposed to two different types of chronic stresses, including physical obligatory swim stress and psychological noise stress. After the last stress session, the rats were examined in terms of the ratio of the vessel lumen diameter to outer diameter, ratio of media diameter to outer diameter, ratio of adventitia diameter to outer diameter, and ratio of wall thickness to outer diameter of vessels.

Obligatory swimming stress and noise stress each significantly increased the ratio of media diameter to the outer diameter of vessels (P<0.001) and decreased the ratio of vessels lumen diameter to the outer diameter (P<0.05). Swimming stress and noise stress induced increases in the ratio of wall thickness to the outer diameter of vessels (P<0.01, P<0.05, respectively). In addition, swimming stress significantly increased the ratio of adventitia diameter to the outer diameter of vessels (P<0.05).

These findings suggest that chronic stress can induce coronary vessel remodelling which results in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.