Responsiveness to α- and β-adrenergic receptor agonists. Effects of race in borderline hypertensive compared to normotensive men

The responsiveness of α- and β-adrenergic receptors was assessed in 13 black and 13 white border-line hypertensive and normotensive men, matched for age and body mass. White borderline hypertensives showed significantly decreased responsiveness of cardiac β-adrenergic receptors and vascular β2-adrenergic receptors to intravenous isoproterenol. In contrast, black borderline hypertensives showed no evidence of decreased β-adrenergic receptor responsiveness. Vascular α1-adrenergic receptor responsiveness, assessed by pressor response to phenylephrine, was unrelated to blood pressure, but was significantly greater in black than in white men. These preliminary observations suggest that there may be racial differences in adrenergic receptor mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension. © 1993.

Duke Scholars

Author Andrew Sherwood Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neur ...