Plasma volume regulation in patients with progressive autonomic failure during changes in salt intake or posture

Blood pressure in patients with progressive autonomic failure falls during salt restriction or orthostasis. We contrasted the regulation of plasma volume in patients with progressive autonomic failure with that of controls to determine whether hypovolemia contributes to this hypotension. When sitting, the plasma volume (measured from distribution of human serum albumin) was normal. During 1 week of low Na+ intake, patients with progressive autonomic failure lost three times as much body weight as controls; however, changes in plasma volume were strictly comparable. Therefore, the extra fluid lost in the patients must have derived primarily from the interstitial space. During alteration in Na+ intake, mean blood pressure values were closely related to plasma volume in the patients (r = 0.80, p less than 0.01) but not in controls. Changes in plasma volume in the head-up tilt position were assessed from the hematocrit values. During tilting, the blood pressure in controls was unchanged, but their plasma volume fell by 10.3% +/- 1.8% (p less than 0.001). In contrast, the mean blood pressure of the patients with progressive autonomic failure fell by 40 +/- 6 mm Hg; yet, their plasma volume was unchanged. Thus, in progressive autonomic failure, plasma volume measured during sitting is normal, but dynamic regulation of plasma volume during salt restriction or orthostasis is abnormal and hypovolemia is offset by partitioning of interstitial fluid into the plasma. Also, because the blood pressure is unusually dependent on volume, this fluid redistribution could be an important defense against severe hypotension in patients lacking cardiovascular reflex control.