Suppression of sympathetic nervous function in low-renin essential hypertension.
Study of general haemodynamics in 15 patients with low-renin essential hypertension showed haemodynamic and pathophysiological heterogeneity. However, there was suppression of sympathetic nervous system function in all low-renin patients, regardless of haemodynamic pattern. Subnormal sympathetic nervous activity was manifested by a low normal mean plasma-noradrenaline concentration at rest, diminished noradrenaline responsiveness to postural stimulation, and a reduced blood-pressure response to the indirectly acting sympathomimetic amine tyramine. It is proposed that the syndrome of low-renin essential hypertension is of diverse aetiology, but with secondary sympathetic nervous system underactivity as a feature common to the various forms. The low plasma-renin activity is probably an expression of defective sympathetic nervous system stimulation of renin release.
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007668:Kidney / Q000294:innervation / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D011187:Posture; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014439:Tyramine / Q000494:pharmacology
D012083:Renin; D009638:Norepinephrine; D014439:Tyramine