Hypertension Causes Premature Aging of Endothelial Function in Humans

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Abstract
We designed the present study to evaluate whether in normotensive subjects and hypertensive patients aging causes endothelial dysfunction by a defect in the L-arginine–nitric oxide pathway or production of cyclooxygenase-dependent vasoconstrictors. In 43 normotensive subjects and 47 essential hypertensive patients, we evaluated forearm blood flow (strain-gauge plethysmography) modifications evoked by intrabrachial acetylcholine (0.15, 0.45, 1.5, 4.5, and 15 μg/100 mL per minute), an endothelium-dependent vasodilator, in the presence of saline, l-arginine (1 μmol/100 mL per minute), or indomethacin (50 μg/100 mL per minute), a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, and by sodium nitroprusside (1, 2, and 4 μg/100 mL per minute), an endothelium-independent vasodilator. Vasodilation to acetylcholine was lower (P<.01) in essential hypertensive patients than normotensive control subjects, and in both groups, it declined with advancing age. In normotensive subjects older than 30 years, l-arginine potentiated the response to ...