Assessment of autonomic nervous function in human hypertension.
In spite of the popular belief that "nervous tension," "stress," and hypertension are causally related, it has been difficult to prove a role of autonomic dysfunction in the genesis of essential hypertension. There are three major reasons for this: 1) autonomic function cannot be assessed with one simple test, 2) the short-term "phasic" and long-term "tonic" autonomic control of blood pressure are not necessarily interrelated, and 3) hypertension is a dynamic process in the course of which there are changes in autonomic control. Some of the controversies in the field stem from the lack of appreciation of these limitations.
University of Michigan Medical Center, Division of Hypertension, Ann Arbor 48109-0356.
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D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*