How to measure baroreflex sensitivity

TLDR: The use of vasoactive drugs and the analysis of spontaneously occurring changes in blood pressure and heart rate are described.

Abstract: In normal subjects arterial baroreflexes play a key role in short-term blood pressure adjustments to a variety of environmental stresses, thereby maintaining circulatory homeostasis. These responses are mediated by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems through their effects on heart rate, venous return, contractility and peripheral resistance. The evaluation of baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) has recently found unexpected exploitations as alterations in the baroreflex control of heart rate have been associated with an increased propensity for cardiac mortality and sudden cardiac death [1]. Among several quantitative approaches developed for evaluating BRS including the analysis of reflex responses to pharmacological or mechanical manipulations of baroreceptors, this article describes the use of vasoactive drugs and the analysis of spontaneously occurring changes in blood pressure and heart rate.