title: Baroreflex failure.
abstract: The baroreflex receives less attention nowadays because most students of hypertension are convinced that faulty volume regulation by the kidneys is responsible for long-term blood pressure increases. However, unusual patients with bilateral destruction of the normal blood pressure-sensing mechanisms can develop profound chronic hypertension. We present 2 patients with baroreflex failure. Both had volatile hypertension with systolic readings up to 300 mm Hg documented over years. Both had muscle sympathetic nerve activity that was increased even while resting. Treating these patients was a stochastic challenge. The therapy is frequently based on medicines that are no longer commonly prescribed.
authors.affiliation: Franz-Volhard Clinical Research Center, Medical Faculty of the Charité and Helios Klinikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heusser
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tank
authors.forename: Friedrich C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Luft
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jordan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017704:Baroreflex; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents