Vasodilation in the vascular bed of skeletal muscle after intravenous nifedipine in normotensives and hypertensives.
The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of nifedipine on blood flow and resistance in the forearm vascular bed of skeletal muscle in 10 male patients with primary hypertension and 10 age-matched male normotensives. We measured the effects of increasing doses of intravenous nifedipine on blood pressure, heart rate, total forearm blood flow and muscle blood flow. Muscle blood flow was determined by a combination of computed tomography and strain-gauge plethysmography. The nifedipine-induced increases in total forearm blood flow were the same in both groups. However, both the increase in muscle blood flow and the decrease in the resistance of the muscle vasculature were more pronounced in the hypertensives than in the normotensives (P less than 0.05). The data provide an explanation for the blood pressure reduction induced by nifedipine in hypertensives and support the hypothesis that elevated vascular resistance is an important functional component in primary hypertension.
Weber
F
F
Department of Renal and Hypertensive Diseases, University of Essen, Federal Republic of Germany.
Anlauf
M
M
D000328:Adult; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects*; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
D009543:Nifedipine