Abstract
This study was conducted to determine if reducing sympathetic tone with α-adrenergic receptor blockade affected the maximal forearm vascular conductance (FVCmax; reactive hyperemia) responses in young borderline hypertensives and normotensive controls. The FVC response following ischemia (14 min arterial occlusion with 3 min of hand exercise) was determined after systemic α-blockade (5 mg prazosin in preceding 24 h) in hypertensives (n=11, MAP=110±1, age=24.5±1.1, ¯x±SEM) and normotensives (n=13, MAP=82±1, age=22.5±0.3). During the placebo trial, resting FVC was lower in the hypertensives than the normotensives (.0472±.0073 vs .0755±.0095 units; P<.05). During α-blockade, FVC did not differ between the groups. Within each group, FVCmax did not differ significantly between either trial. During placebo, FVCmax was lower (P<.05) in the hypertensives (.3485±.0335 vs .5641±.0503 units) and remained so during α1-blockade (.4048±.0520 vs .5286±.0275 units; P<.05). These data suggest that α-blockade does not increase FVCmax in borderline hypertensives and that both functional and structural changes in the peripheral vasculature are involved in the blood pressure elevations seen in this group.
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