THE EFFECT OF BLOOD PRESSURE ALTERATION ON THE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY

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Abstract
Experiments were carried out on 5 subjects with hypertension and 5 normal subjects in whom changes in blood pressure were induced by pharmacological means. It was found that the pulse wave velocity in the aorta and iliac arteries suffered greater alteration in the normal subjects as a result of increase of blood pressure than did that of the subjects with hypertension who suffered an induced fall of pressure. At high pressure levels, closely comparable in the 2 groups, the subjects with normal blood pressure had higher pulse wave velocity values than the subjects with hypertension. At the low pressure range the subjects with hypertension had a higher pulse wave velocity than the normal subjects but the blood pressure of the former group was somewhat higher. The results suggest a greater capacity for change in the elastic modulus of the arteries of the subjects with normal blood pressure, as compared to the subjects with hypertension, in keeping with the probability of a higher incidence of degenerative changes in the arteries of the latter.