Hemodynamic effects of isometric exercise and mental arithmetic in hypertension treated with selective and...

Hypertensive patients have an unfavorable pressor response to exogenous epinephrine during nonselective beta-blockade. We studied hemodynamics during epinephrine release induced by handgrip exercise and mental arithmetic to examine the clinical relevance of this phenomenon. Twenty-two hypertensive patients were examined in a double-blind crossover experiment with placebo, propranolol (240 mg daily), placebo-washout, and metoprolol (300 mg daily). Changes induced by stress tests for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and forearm blood flow (FBF) were of the same order on both beta-blockers. Rises in HR and FBF were equally reduced by both drugs. Neither handgrip exercise nor mental arithmetic induced significant differences in reaction during selective and nonselective beta-blockade.