title: Cardiovascular hormonal effects of circulating norepinephrine.
abstract: The hormonal effects of circulating norepinephrine (NE) were evaluated with two-step NE infusion studies in normal volunteers. At an infusion rate that increased plasma NE 2.5-fold (approximately equivalent to the change from supine to upright posture), there were small but consistent increases in diastolic pressure (+5 mm Hg) and plasma renin activity (+13%). At the high extreme of the physiologic range (a 9-fold increase over supine basal), circulating NE caused major changes in blood pressure (+22/15 mm Hg), heart rate (-7 bpm), and plasma renin activity (+67%). Thus, at physiologic concentrations, circulating NE should be considered to be a cardiovascular hormone as well as an index of sympathetic nervous activity.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000097:blood; D006339:Heart Rate; D006400:Hematocrit; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood*; D011942:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D011942:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha; D009638:Norepinephrine; D004837:Epinephrine