CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Vol 23, No 1, February 2012
AFRICA
33
on salivary cortisol levels and associated vascular responses in
black South Africans.
Conclusion
Early morning vascular responses
39,40
in all the hypertensive
men could occur secondarily to the permissive effect of high-
normal resting cortisol levels on norepinephrine secretion,
with subsequent
α
-adrenergic vasoconstriction. Their enhanced
α
-adrenergic vascular responses during the cold pressor test
predicted sub-clinical atherosclerosis, independent of sampling
time and cortisol.
The authors acknowledge the assistance of Chrissie Lessing (RN) and
Szabolcs Peter (MD) and all the collaborators involved. This study was finan-
cially supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa,
North-West University (NWU) Potchefstroom campus, South Africa, and the
Metabolic Syndrome Institute, France.
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