Sympathetic nervous system and blood-pressure control in essential hypertension.
In normotensive subjects an inverse correlation was observed between an index of sympathetic nervous activity (the plasma-noradrenaline concentration during physical exercise) and reactivity to exogenous noradrenaline. This relationship was invariably disturbed in age-matched patients with essential hypertension. Multiple-regression analysis revealed a highly significant correlation between the combination of both factors and the height of mean arterial blood-pressure (r=0.91). The findings suggest that sympathetic nervous activity and pressor response to noradrenaline together form an important determinant of the arterial blood-pressure level. An inverse relationship could be demonstrated between plasma-renin concentration and pressor response to angiotensin II in normotensives, and this relationship was unchanged in hypertensive patients. Therefore angiotensin II does not appear to contribute directly to high blood-pressure.
D000328:Adult; D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000494:pharmacology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood; D012146:Rest; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*
D006728:Hormones; D000804:Angiotensin II; D012083:Renin; D009638:Norepinephrine