Intra-arterial Pressure in Man After Sudden Complete Occlusion as a Measure of Peripheral Resistance

¹ From the Hypertension Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, and Barnes Hospital, Saint Louis, Missouri

When an artery is rapidly occluded, intravascular pressure in the distal segment falls, the rate being a function of peripheral resistance. The temporal course of the fall was directly recorded in the brachial artery of 22 hypertensive patients. Recordings were made before and after the intravenous injection of 10 mg of hexamethonium chloride. There was some positive correlation between diastolic but not systolic pressure before arterial occlusion and intravascular pressure 18 seconds afterwards When hexamethonium ion lowered the diastolic pressure, the intravascular pressure 18 seconds after occlusion was not changed in any consistent way.