Blood pressure reactivity in patients with neurocirculatory asthenia

The hemodynamic reactions of 30 young men with neurocirculatory asthenia (NCA) were compared to those of 30 healthy controls in isometric handgrip test, orthostatic test, and cold pressor test in order to study the regulation of the central circulation of NCA patients. The measurements were made using sphygmomanometry, ECG, and impedance cardiography. In the isometric handgrip test the heart rate and the diastolic and mean blood pressure increased slightly more (P less than 0.05) in the NCA group than in the controls. In the NCA group the blood pressure rise was, on average, due to an increase in the peripheral vascular resistance, while in the control group it was caused by an elevation in the cardiac output. In the orthostatic and cold pressor tests the hemodynamic alterations were quite similar in the two groups. It is concluded that the NCA patients have in the orthostatic and cold pressor tests a normal ability to elevate the blood pressure by increasing the peripheral vascular resistance. The lack of rise in the cardiac output during the isometric handgrip test in the NCA group is an abnormal reaction, the reason of which remains to be studied.