Hyperventilation-induced cerebrovascular reactivity among hypertensive and healthy adolescents.
BACKGROUND
It is known that cerebral vasoreactivity is altered in adult arterial hypertension but no information is available about cerebral arteriolar function in hypertensive adolescents. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to assess cerebral vasoreactivity responses in adolescent hypertension.


METHODS
113 hypertensive and 58 normotensive adolescents were assessed with transcranial Doppler sonography by using voluntary hyperventilation (HV) as vasoconstrictory stimulus. Absolute blood flow velocities (systolic, mean and diastolic) and pulsatility indices (PIs) at rest and after HV, as well as percentage change of the blood flow velocities after HV were compared among the groups.


RESULTS
Blood flow velocities at rest were significantly higher in hypertensive individuals, while PIs were similar in the two groups. After HV, all blood flow velocity parameters were higher among hypertensive teenagers than in healthy controls, while PIs did not differ between the two groups. Taking the relative changes after HV into account, it was found that HV induced a more pronounced change of the systolic and mean blood flow velocities of the control subjects than in hypertensive adolescents.


CONCLUSIONS
Cerebrovascular reactivity to hypocapnia is decreased in hypertensive adolescents as compared to healthy teenagers. Further studies are needed to clarify the clinical significance of altered cerebral microvascular function in adolescent hypertension.
Settakis
Georgios
G
Department of Neurology, University of Debrecen, Health and Medical Science Center, Debrecen, Hungary.
Páll
Dénes
D
Molnár
Csilla
C
Katona
Eva
E
Bereczki
Dániel
D
Fülesdi
Béla
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000465:Algorithms; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006985:Hyperventilation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial