[Plasma adrenaline and noradrenaline in essential and renal hypertension (author's transl)]

Plasma renin, adrenaline and noradrenaline were measured by the respective radioenzymic and radioimmunological methods in 69 patients with essential hypertension, 40 patients with secondary hypertension from chronic parenchymatous renal disease and in 18 normotensive controls. Plasma levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline were not statistically different in primary secondary hypertension and were comparable with normotensive controls. Compared with secondary hypertension, only 4% of patients with primary hypertension had a marginally raised plasma noradrenaline, compared with normotensive subjects, only 6% had a definitely raised plasma noradrenaline level. Though absolutely normal, noradrenaline in high renin essential hypertension was significantly higher than in low renin essential hypertension; it correlated neither with age nor blood pressure. Plasma adrenaline was reduced in about 30% of patients with primary and secondary hypertension, leading to a positively skewed frequency distribution; plasma adrenaline correlated positively with heart rate (p less than 0.001), pulse pressure (p less than 0.01) and plasma noradrenaline (p less than 0.01) and negatively with diastolic blood pressure (p less than 0.05). Supine plasma catecholamine levels do not demonstrate differences in adrenergic tone in primary and secondary hypertension and do not add any new evidence for an increased sympathetic tone in primary hypertension. In fact, plasma adrenaline is suppressed in about 30% of patients with primary and secondary hypertension.