Effects of race and hypertension on flow-mediated and nitroglycerin-mediated dilation of the brachial artery

Black Americans have increased morbidity and mortality rates from cardiovascular disease, greater prevalence of hypertension, and altered responses to vasodilator medications compared with those of white Americans. Hypertension and black race have been linked to impaired vascular function in the microcirculation. To examine these effects and their interaction in the conduit vasculature. we examined vasomotor responses of the brachial artery by using high-resolution vascular ultrasound in 228 subjects (48% hypertensive, 54% black). Subjects had no history of diabetes mellitus and were matched for age and gender. Flow-mediated dilation (8.5 +/- 5.3% versus 11.7 +/- 6.3%, P < 0.001) and nitroglycerin-mediated vasodilation (14.9 +/- 6.0 versus 18.5 +/- 7.8, P = 0.003) were both impaired in hypertensive compared with normotensive individuals. Multivariate analysis identified higher systolic blood pressure (P = 0.003) and larger baseline vessel (P < 0.001) size as independent predictors of lower flow-mediated dilation. Race did not significantly influence flow-mediated dilation. In contrast, blacks had a greater vasodilator response to nitroglycerin compared with whites (17.7 +/- 7.5% versus 15.0 +/- 6.2%, respectively, P = 0.02). By multivariate analysis, black race (P = 0.004), smaller vessel size (P = 0.001), lower serum glucose (P = 0.02), lower systolic blood pressure (P = 0.02), and lower serum total cholesterol (P = 0.04) were independent predictors of higher nitroglycerin-mediated dilation. Thus, hypertension is associated with impaired NO-mediated vasodilation in the conduit brachial artery. Overall, race did not influence flow-mediated dilation, but black race was associated with an enhanced response to sublingual nitroglycerin. This later observation provides further evidence of racial differences in the responses to medical therapy that may be relevant to the treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease.