Effect of prednisone on digital vascular reactivity in normotensive and hypertensive subjects

¹ Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City

Reactivity to L-norepinephrine (NE) was studied in the digital circulation of normotensive and hypertensive subjects before and after the administration of glucocorticosteroids. After 1 week of oral prednisone administration (30 mg daily) NE reactivity was higher in some, but not all, the normotensive subjects and remained substantially unchanged in the hypertensive group. A single intravenous injection of prednisolone (100 mg) resulted in a moderate increase in NE reactivity in the normotensive but not in the hypertensive subjects. After 3 weeks of oral prednisone administration (30 mg daily), NE reactivity was doubled or trebled in most normotensive subjects but remained unchanged in the patients with essential hypertension. These observations suggest that the effect of glucocorticosteroids on NE reactivity in normotensive subjects is chemical and that this effect is absent or modified in patients with essential hypertension.

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