[Systemic arterial hypertension: pathogentic role of the sympathetic nervous system]

Role of the clinical and experimental data suggesting the role of the sympathetic nervous system in some essential hypertension are reviewed: increase in heart rate and diastolic blood pressure during orthostatism, increase in cardiac output resulting from increase in cardiopulmonary blood volume and/or in myocardial contractility, increase in peripheral resistances, elevated plasma catecholamines and dopamine-bêta-hydroxylase, disturbances in arterial baroreceptor sensitivity and in vascular response to adrenergic stimuli, elevated plasma renin activity. It appears that the role of a sympathetic overactivity is mainly important in labile hypertension with hyperkinetic syndrome and elevated plasma renin activity.