Characterisation of hypertensive patients according to 24 H peripheral resistance.
To clarify whether a circadian rhythm of peripheral resistance exists in humans and whether hypertensive patients represent a homogeneous category in this respect, 15 normotensives aged 31 +/- 4 years and 30 hypertensives aged 41 +/- 13 years were confined to bed for 22 h and forearm flow recorded automatically. Night-time BP values were higher in hypertensive patients (Group B) whose night/day ratios of mean BP were below the 95% C.I. of the normal regression of the normotensives, than in those falling within the 95% C.I. (Group A). Forearm resistance was lower during sleep than during waking in Group A and in the normotensive controls, paralleling the nocturnal blood pressure fall. On the contrary, in the Group B hypertensives, despite a comparable night-time BP decrease, forearm resistance was higher during sleep than during waking.
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padova, Italy.
E
E
Casiglia
J
J
Staessen
G
G
Ginocchio
A
A
Pizziol
A
A
Mazza
C
C
Onesto
P
P
Palatini
A C
AC
Pessina
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000098:blood supply; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D014655:Vascular Resistance