Noon JP, Walker BR, Shore AC, Holton DW, Edwards HV, Watt
GCM, Webb DJ
Abnormal microvascular structure in subjects with familial
predisposition to high blood pressure
16th Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Hypertension
ISH Abstract Book
(Jun) 16: 1996
Whether structural abnormalities in the dermal microcirculation which
have been observed in established essential hypertension also occur in
young adults who are predisposed to high blood pressure (BP) is
unknown; futhermore it is undefined whether these abnormalities are
restricted to a sub-group of predisposed subjects (those in whom the
predisposition is familial) and therefore likely to be a cause rather
than a non-specific consequence of higher BP.
Healthy males predisposed to either high or low BP were studied.
Maximal dermal blood flow, measured in the forearm by laser Doppler
fluximetry following local heating and ischaemia, was lower only in
subjects with familial predisposition to hypertension. Capillary
numbers, measured on the finger dorsum during venous occlusion, were
lower in thes subjects than in those without predispostion to
hypertension. Increased resistance during maximum dilatation is the
hallmark of structural changes in blood vessels. These data show that
minimal resistance in dermal vessels of young adults with a familial
predisposition to high BP is much higher than that of subjects with
either a non-familial predisposition to high BP or a predisposition to
low BP. This was associated with reduced capillary numbers (ie
rarefaction).
Comment: Abnormal angiogenesis during development may
be an important mediator of the inheritance of hypertension
(Carmine Zoccali, M.D, Reggio Calabria, Italy).
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16th Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Hypertension
H: Pathophysiology :
Genetics
H: Pathophysiology :
Vascular pathology