[Adrenaline-induced platelet aggregation and blood pressure in normal subjects]

Epinephrine- and collagen-induced aggregation of platelets was determined under standardized conditions in vitro in 100 healthy normotonic subjects, and the relation between the platelet-parameters and diastolic and systolic blood pressure analysed. A correlation between aggregation and blood pressure could be demonstrated only in the case of epinephrine-induced aggregation. Intensity of epinephrine-induced aggregation correlated well with the simultaneously measured diastolic and systolic blood pressure and with the calculated mean arterial pressure (R = 0.775; p less than 0.001). From the results it can be concluded, that the correlation between epinephrine-induced aggregation and blood pressure depends on endogenous levels of catecholamines.