Circulatory changes during and after surgical anesthesia in hypertensive patients treated with clonidine, methyldopa...

The cardiovascular changes in 27 hypertensive patients belonging to WHO classes I-II and treated with either clonidine, methyldopa or reserpine during thiopentone-N2O-O2-relaxant-analgesic anesthesia were studied. The variations in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate during induction of anesthesia and surgery did not differ according to the antihypertensive drug with which the patient was treated. Hypokalemia was found to be the most common postoperative complication in all study groups. The results suggest that the selection of antihypertensive drug does not form a risk factor when hypertensive patients are being prepared for anesthesia and surgery.