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(Hypertension. 2000;36:e3.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.

Hypertension Electronic Pages

Vasopressin and Blood Pressure in Humans

Jens Jordan; Jens Tank

Clinical Research Center, Franz Volhard Klinik, Charite, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

Andre Diedrich; David Robertson; John R. Shannon

Nathan Blaser Shy-Drager Research Program, Autonomic Dysfunction Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

	Introduction

 
To the Editor:

The importance of vasopressin for blood pressure regulation in humans has been a matter of debate for the past few decades. In healthy subjects, pharmacological blockade of vascular vasopressin (VI) receptors leads to no or minimal changes in arterial blood pressure.¹ This observation suggests that in the presence of intact function of the autonomic nervous system and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, vasopressin release may be of minor importance for the maintenance of blood pressure. However, with impaired autonomic nervous system function or renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system function, vasopressin release may serve as a back-up mechanism to prevent excessive hypotension. For example, the hypotension in vasovagal syncope and pure autonomic failure^{2 3} and during ganglionic blockade^{4 5} is associated with a substantial increase in plasma vasopressin concentration. In this study, we applied short hypotensive stimuli during ganglionic blockade to further elucidate the role of vasopressin in blood pressure regulation in humans.

We studied 10 healthy subjects (5 men, 5 women, 33±1.9 years). In all studies, the heart rate was determined by continuous electrocardiogram and the blood pressure was measured by a radial artery catheter. In an initial study, 7 subjects underwent a battery of cardiovascular autonomic reflex tests before and during complete blockade of autonomic ganglia with trimethaphan.⁵ Before ganglionic blockade, the respiratory sinus arrhythmia ratio was 1.4±0.09. Blood pressure increased 26±4/21±3.7 and 34±1.5/26±2.0 mm Hg with sustained handgrip and cold pressor testing, respectively. Blood pressure did not decrease from baseline during phase 2 of the Valsalva maneuver (40 mm Hg intrathoracic pressure . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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