[The state of microcirculation in hypertensive disease (essential hypertension)]

Skin microcirculation was studied by laser doppler flowmetry in 149 patients with essential hypertension (92 men, 67 women; mean age 50.1+/-4.9 years) and in 25 normotensive controls. In patients with hypertension prevailed pathological hemodynamic types of microcirculation. Hyperemic, spastic and congestive types were found in 20.1, 23.5 and 40.3% of patients, respectively, while only 16.1% of patients had normal hemodynamic type. Moreover presence and severity of microcirculatory disorders depended on stage of hypertension and level of blood pressure. Thus, patients with essential hypertension had pronounced impairment of microcirculation caused by structural and functional changes of microcirculatory vascular bed.