RAISED BLOOD-PRESSURE AND PLASMA NORADRENALINE CONCENTRATIONS IN TEENAGERS AND YOUNG-ADULTS SELECTED FROM AN OPEN POPULATION

Plasma noradrenaline (PNA) concentrations were measured in 38 subjects aged 13–23, who were followed up for two to four years after an initial blood-pressure (BP) reading of 140/90 mm Hg or over was obtained, and in 39 age-matched controls from the same open population. Subjects who were hypertensive when the PNA concentration was measured had a significantly higher concentration (3512± SE 26 pg/ml) compared with their controls (248±29 pg/ml). Furthermore, in those subjects in whom the mean arterial pressure decreased by under 5% during the follow-up period the mean concentration was 363 ±27 pg/ml, compared with 271 ±29 pg/ml in their controls. PNA concentrations and systolic BP were positively correlated. A positive association between PNA concentrations and age was observed in the controls but not the subjects with hypertension, owing to the higher concentrations in younger hypertensive subjects. These findings support the hypothesis that excessive sympathetic activity is related to early essential hypertension. © 1979, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.