AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 253, Issue 2 217-H224, Copyright © 1987 by American Physiological Society
Brachial arterial changes in response to wrist occlusion in normotensive and hypertensive men
J. Levenson, A. Simon and I. Pithois-Merli
Diameter, blood velocity, and flow of the brachial artery and vascular
resistance of the brachial circulation were evaluated with a pulsed Doppler
velocimeter before and after wrist occlusion in 8 younger and 8 older
normotensive subjects and in 11 younger and 11 older hypertensive patients.
Before occlusion, no differences existed between younger and older
normotensives. However, in hypertensives, systolic peak velocity was higher
in younger than in older hypertensives (P less than 0.001) and correlated
to age in the overall patients (r = -0.57, P less than 0.01). Occlusion
decreased velocity and flow and increased vascular resistance in all
groups, but the change in resistance was not correlated with the base-line
resistance. During occlusion, no differences existed between younger and
older normotensives. However, in hypertensives mean and systolic peak
velocity was higher (P less than 0.01), and vascular resistance was lower
(P less than 0.01) in younger than in older patients. In hypertensive
patients, during occlusion mean and systolic peak velocity were negatively
correlated to age (r = -0.72, P less than 0.001; r = -0.59, P less than
0.01), and vascular resistance was positively related to age (r = +0.66, P
less than 0.001). Thus wrist occlusion modified the brachial circulation in
normotensive and hypertensive populations but revealed age-related
differences only in hypertensive patients, suggesting a combined effect of
age and hypertension on the muscle vascular bed.
