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Hyperventilation and amplified blood pressure response: is there a link?

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Abstract

Based on prior studies, the hypothesis that hyperventilation (HV) may have a pressor effect and play a causal role in hypertension has been suggested. The objective of this study was to correlate HV with blood pressure (BP)-change during a postural challenge. Consecutive subjects referred for evaluation of syncope, dizziness, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, or non-CFS fatigue were assessed with a 10-min supine 30-min head-up tilt test combined with capnography. We selected for analysis the records of patients aged 17–70 years, not taking vasoactive medications, having sitting systolic BP (SBP)<140 mmHg, sitting diastolic BP (DBP) <90 mmHg, and who completed 30 min of tilt. HV was diagnosed when end-tidal pressure of CO2 <30 mmHg was recorded consecutively for ⩾10 min. Postural hypertension (PHT) was diagnosed when DBP on tilt ⩾90 mmHg was recorded consecutively for ⩾10 min. DBP-change was computed as (median DBP on tilt) −(median DBP supine). PHT and DBP-change were correlated with HV. A total of 320 patient charts were reviewed. PHT was present in 30 cases. The mean DBP-change in patients with PHT was +9.9 mmHg (s.d. 5.8), with three patients manifesting HV. Of the remaining 290 patients, 56 had HV, their mean DBP-change was -0.3 mmHg (s.d. 7.2). The other 234 patients without HV had a mean DBP-change +0.95 mmHg (s.d. 5.7), comparable to the DBP-change in patients with HV. In, conclusion, posturally induced HV was not associated with an increase in BP, nor was PHT associated with HV, except in a small minority of cases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine A, Bnai-Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel

    J E Naschitz, E R Peck, S Peck, N Naftali, G Slobodin & N Elias

  2. Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    R Mussafia-Priselac

  3. Department of Nephrology, Bnai-Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel

    S Storch

  4. Department of Rheumatology, Bnai-Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel

    I Rosner

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  1. J E Naschitz
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  2. R Mussafia-Priselac
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  3. E R Peck
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  4. S Peck
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  7. G Slobodin
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  8. N Elias
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  9. I Rosner
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Correspondence to J E Naschitz.

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Naschitz, J., Mussafia-Priselac, R., Peck, E. et al. Hyperventilation and amplified blood pressure response: is there a link?. J Hum Hypertens 19, 381–387 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001830

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001830

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