Racial differences in blood pressure and forearm vascular responses to the cold face stimulus.
Published
Journal Article
The mechanisms responsible for the higher incidence of essential hypertension in blacks than in whites are the object of much research attention. One hypothesis is that the development of hypertension in blacks is associated with exaggerated blood pressure reactivity, particularly those responses mediated by vasoconstriction. Racial differences in blood pressure responses to cold stimulation of the forehead, a known alpha-adrenergic vasoconstrictive stimulus, were examined in health, college-age males. Compared to white subjects, black subjects exhibited significantly greater increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as increases in forearm vascular resistance, in response to cold stimulation. This preliminary evidence of increased peripheral vascular reactivity in blacks suggests that known racial differences in hypertension prevalence might derive in part from physiological differences in sympathetic nervous system reactivity.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Anderson, NB; Lane, JD; Muranaka, M; Williams, RB; Houseworth, SJ
Published Date
- January 1988
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 50 / 1
Start / End Page
- 57 - 63
PubMed ID
- 3344303
Pubmed Central ID
- 3344303
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0033-3174
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1097/00006842-198801000-00007
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States