Haemodynamics studies in young men with mild blood pressure elevation

The cardiac output at rest, and the intra-arterial blood pressure and hand blood flow at maximal vasodilation were determined in two groups of men aged 18-22 years. 44 patients were referred from a military enlistment centre because of mild blood pressure elevation, and 29 normotensive volunteers were mainly recruited from the same enlistment centre. In addition, in a majority of subjects in both groups the auscultatory blood pressure of both parents was determined. The patients were characterized by a significantly higher cardiac index at rest, and a significantly higher vascular resistance in the hand blood vessels at maximal vasodilation than the controls, indicating the presence of structural alterations in the resistance vessels of these subjects with only very mild blood pressure elevation. The tendency to increased vascular resistance in the hand blood vessels at maximal vasodilation was more prominent in patients with a normal cardiac index than in those with a high index. This suggests inclusion in the patient group of tense, anxious individuals with an elevated cardiac index but otherwise normal circulation, but does not exclude the possibility that these patients may develop structural vascular changes later on. The parents' blood pressure was higher in the group of patients, both for patients with a normal and those with a high cardiac index, compared to the parents of the controls.