Evaluation of an index of peripheral vascular resistance in human subjects

Arterial stiffness

BACKGROUND

Arterial stiffness is an important determinant of pulse pressure, and of left ventricular load and coronary perfusion pressure.

ASSESSMENTS OF STIFFNESS

Precise quantification is elusive, since stiffness is different in different arteries and even in the same artery at different pressures. Proximal elastic arteries and peripheral muscular arteries respond differently to aging change and to drugs. Various other terms are used to express stiffness, such as distensibility and compliance. Various indirect indices are also used, including pulse wave velocity, characteristic impedance and augmentation index.

INCREASES IN STIFFNESS

While the literature is confusing, it is well established that stiffness of central arteries increases with aging and with elevated blood pressure. Effects of other diseases and of vasoactive agents are less clear-cut.

Hemodynamic factors regulating blood pressure during sleep in patients with mild essential hypertension

Blood pressure (BP) values (systolic BP = Ps, diastolic BP = Pd, heart rate = HR) fluctuate widely throughout the day, and are at their lowest levels during sleep (sleep-Ps = PS0, sleep-Pd = Pd0, sleep-HR = HR0). We analyzed the relationships among these values using the Windkessel model (logarithmic gradient of diastolic pressure decay A = E/R, E = elastic modulus, R = vascular resistance). Intra-arterial BP and ECG were recorded throughout 24 hours in 23 patients with mild essential hypertension (EH) by telemetry, and EEG was monitored during the night. The waveform of each BP pulse was analyzed by computer. The dye-function method was used to obtain the cardiac output while the subjects were awake, recumbent and during slow-wave sleep on the EEG. A high correlation coefficient (r) was observed between mean BP and square root of E x square root of R during sleep (r = 0.88, p < 0.001). Sleep-HR was determined from the waveform that most effectively permitted peripheral blood flow. Furthermore, the simple algebraic relationships Pd not equal to phi x Pd0 and phi not equal to FI + a1(BI) + b1 (a1, b1 = constant) were observed between Pd0 and different 24 h Pd values [FI = eA(RR0-RR); BI = baroreflex index = RR x Pd(RR0 x Pd0)-1, which was significantly correlated with the baroreflex sensitivity, r = 0.79; RR0 and RR are the RR intervals in Pd0 and Pd waves]. The mean r between Pd0 x phi and the actual Pd over 24 h was 0.91 +/- 0.02 (SD). We conclude that sleep-BP and sleep-HR depend mainly on square root of E x square root of R, m [m = log(e)(Ps/Pd)] and E/R, whereas BP variability (phi) over a 24 h period is related to HR variation, the baroreflex index and E/R in mild EH patients.

Increasing daytime vascular resistance with progressive hypertension in ambulant patients

Twenty-four-hour recordings of intra-arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and calculation of the index of peripheral vascular resistance were obtained in 20 untreated ambulant hypertensive patients during their routine activities outside the hospital. Blood pressures and heart rates were higher during the day, with a mean night-to-day increase of 22%, 34%, and 26%, for systolic, diastolic, and mean pressures, respectively. The average increase in the heart rate was 32%. Overall, the index of resistance was lower (12%) during the day. However, eight patients (40%) demonstrated no change or an increase in the peripheral vascular resistance. Six of these eight patients had an average daytime mean pressure above 120 mm Hg. There was a significant decrease in the index of resistance during exercise in all but one of the 16 subjects. Hemodynamic parameters of 1 hour before and 1 hour after awakening were similar to the values obtained during the entire night and the rest of the day, respectively. Our data suggest that in patients with "progressive" hypertension, the ability to decrease vascular resistance from night to day is compromised.