Studies of blood pressures in children, ages 5-14 years, in a total biracial community: the Bogalusa Heart Study

Blood pressure, height, weight, maturation, triceps skinfold thickness, serum lipids, and hemoglobin were measured as risk factors for coronary artery disease in 3,524 children (93% of the eligible population) in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Nine blood pressures were taken on each child by trained observers with mercury sphygmomanometers (Baumanometer) and Physiometrics automatic recorders in a rigid randomized design in a relaxed atmosphere with other children present. The pressures observed were low compared to reported data. Black children had significantly higher blood pressures than white children. This difference, starting before age 10, was largest in the children in the upper five percent of the pressure ranks. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that this racial differnce was significant when measured by an automatic recorder. Body size, expressed by height and by weight/height3 index, was a strong determinant of blood pressure level. Other positive determinants were blood hemoglobin and external maturation.     

Impedance cardiography used to assess patterns of cardiovascular response to behavioral stressors

This paper presents two examples of how impedance cardiography may be used to interpret the hemodynamic influences on blood pressures measured during behavioral stress. In Study 1, blood pressure changes which were similar during two tasks were shown to have important differences in their cardiac output and vascular resistance components. During work on a reaction time task having aversive incentives compared with a neutral task, the blood pressure changes were seen to be associated with lowered vascular resistance and raised cardiac activity, a "fight-flight" pattern. In Study 2, blood pressure response differences between two subject groups working on an identical task were found to have blood pressure changes differing in their underlying cardiac and vascular components as measured by impedance. Such uses impedance cardiography have widespread potential application in psychophysiological research with humans.     

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in the aged. The EPICARDIAN study. The EPICARDIAN Work Group

OBJECTIVE: To determine reference values for ambulatory blood pressure in a random sample of Spanish elderly population, and their correlations with office blood pressure measurements. METHODS: A representative random sample was obtained, stratified by sex and age, of 1,227 elderly subjects aged > 65 years, residents in an urban district, Barrio de Salamanca, or Madrid, Spain. In a random subsample (n = 420), two different blood pressure measurement approaches were performed: Office blood pressure and twenty-four hour ambulatory blood pressure (spacelabs 90207) were recorded, and two periods were defined: awake and sleeping, on the basis of the daily activities. Hypertension was defined if the average of casual blood pressure was > or = 140/90 mmHg or if there was current use of antihypertensive drugs. RESULTS: Among the 420 participants, 333 ambulatory blood pressure monitorings were performed, 301 with valid registers, of whom 105 were receiving antihypertensive drug treatment. Office, 24 hour, awake and sleeping pressures averaged 147/84 mmHg, 128/72 mmHg, 132/77 mmHg and 122/66 mmHg respectively. Differences between whole sample and no treated group were not significant (p = 0.2), nor between the whole sample and the treated group (p = 0.7). Office blood pressure was markedly higher than 24 hour and awake averages (20 and 15 mmHg for systolic and 12 and 7 mmHg for diastolic, respectively). The differences between clinic and awake average blood pressures were significantly higher in females (p = 0.001) and increased, in both genders, as age (p = 0.001) and clinic blood pressure values (p < 0.000) increased. Correlation coefficients between office and the average awake period of the ambulatory blood pressures were of 0.60 and 0.48 for systolic and diastolic respectively. The ambulatory blood pressure value equivalent to 140/90 mmHg when obtained by causal measurement, was 15 mmHg lower when considering the 24 h average, or 10 mmHg lower when the awake averages. CONCLUSION: Ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure values in the elderly are markedly lower than office values, specially in the case of systolic blood pressure. Differences in results between the two methods increase with age and with clinic blood pressure values, and are bigger in females. The cut-off point for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring equivalent to 140/90 mmHg in the casual measurement is of 125/75 mmHg for the 24 hour average and of 130/80 mmHg for awake average.     

Determinants and significance of declining blood pressure in old age. A prospective birth cohort study

AIMS: To investigate the changes in blood pressure and their causes in an elderly population. METHODS: Orthostatic blood pressure measurements were performed in randomly in four birth cohorts (years 65-, 75-, 80- and 85, n=773) at 5-year intervals. RESULTS: Both systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased in both genders and all age groups. The falls in blood pressure related closely to initial blood pressure values and to the thickness of the left ventricular posterior wall of the heart. The changes in supine (r=0.118, P=0.007) and standing systolic blood pressure (r=0.123, P=0.005), as well as supine (r=0.148, P<0.001) and standing diastolic blood pressure (r=0.186, P<0.001) correlated with changes in body weight. Changes in supine diastolic blood pressure also related to changes in serum cholesterol (r=0.207, P=0.002) and triglycerides (r=0.160, P=0.016). Changes in supine and standing systolic and standing diastolic blood pressures also related to changes in dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (r=0.161, P<0.05; r=0.205, P<0.01; r=0.140, P<0.05, respectively). Changes in blood pressure also correlated with self-estimated poor health after 5 years (r for supine systolic blood pressure= -0.133, P<0.001, for standing systolic blood pressure= -0.135, P<0.001, for supine diastolic blood pressure= -0.111, P<0.002). PATIENTS: who were institutionalized during the follow-up or who had severely impaired performance capacity after 5 years, displayed the most marked decline in blood pressure. Declining systolic blood pressure was also related to impaired survival prognosis. According to the logistic regression analyses the baseline blood pressure, antihypertensive drugs and changes in dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and cholesterol explained over 30% of the changes in blood pressure. In the logistic models, declining blood pressure was associated with baseline blood pressure, antihypertensive treatment, poor health after 5 years, and decreasing cholesterol and triglycerides. CONCLUSION: Decline in blood pressure in old age is associated with deteriorating health and is only partly explained by the use of antihypertensive drugs.     

Temporal pattern of IGF-I expression during mouse preimplantation embryogenesis

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of casual and exercise blood pressure as well as the importance of clinical factors on the presence and degree of left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertension. METHODS: Fifteen normotensives (control group) and 30 hypertensives, 14 of them with and 16 without left ventricular hypertrophy (groups with LVH and without LVH, respectively) were studied. LVH diagnosis was established when mass index was higher than 2 standard-deviations of the mean values calculated for each sex in control group. Resting, casual determined, and bicycle exercise systolic and diastolic blood pressures along with age, body surface area, sex and race distribution were compared between groups. In addiction, their relation with mass index as independent variables were also tested. RESULTS: Hypertensives in group with LVH had higher diastolic septal, posterior wall, and relative wall thicknesses. No significant statistical difference was observed neither in sex and race distribution, nor in age and body surface area between groups. Otherwise, there were significant differences in both resting and exercise blood pressure. In the entire population studied, left ventricular mass index significantly correlated with age (r=0,33, p=0,03) as well as with both casual (systolic - r=0,72, p=0,0001; diastolic - r=0,69, p=0,0001) and exercise (systolic - r=0,62, p=0,0001; diastolic - r=0,66, p=0,0001) blood pressures. However, linear regression analysis demonstrated that only resting systolic (p=0,0001) and exercise diastolic (p=0,0303) blood pressures were significant and independent determinants of mass index. CONCLUSION: Resting and exercising blood pressures are the main determinants of left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertension.     

Epidemiological study of blood pressure in domestic cats

Blood pressure was measured indirectly in 203 cats using an oscillometric technique in conjunction with a tail cuff. Systolic blood pressure was found to be log normally distributed across the population, while diastolic pressure was log log normally distributed. Blood pressure was found to rise with age (systolic, diastolic, mean arterial and pulse pressure were significantly higher in animals aged 11 years or over than in animals aged under 11 years) but this rise did not parallel an increase in plasma urea or creatinine. Cats with clinical renal disease did however have higher blood pressures than normal cats, as did cats with ocular change consistent with hypertensive retinopathy.     

Pattern of paediatric blood pressure in rural, semi-urban and urban communities in Ilorin, Nigeria

The blood pressures of 2,526 children aged between 1 and 14 years were measured in their home environments in rural, semi-urban and urban communities in Ilorin. Blood pressure increased with age, but there was no significant difference between the communities. Girls had higher blood pressures than boys between the ages of 9 and 13 years, in the semi-urban and rural communities. The prevalence of high blood pressure in the urban community (9.5%) was higher, though not significantly so, than the rural community (6.3%). It is concluded that the prevalence of paediatric high blood pressure in the African is higher than previously reported.     

Blood pressure in tenth-grade students: results from the Chicago Heart Association Pediatric Heart Screening Project

This report is based on 13,231 tenth-grade students who participated in the Chicago Heart Association Pediatric Heart Screening Project. The blood pressures of these fifteen and sixteen-year-olds were analyzed with respect to sex, race, adiposity, pulse rate, and father's educational attainment. The mean systolic blood pressure was higher in boys than girls by nearly 5 mm Hg, but mean diastolic blood pressure was lower by less than 1 mm Hg. Black tenth-graders had higher mean diastolic blood pressure than whites; the difference in systolic blood pressure was not statistically significant. Adiposity and resting pulse rate were positively correlated with systolic blood pressure and, to a lesser degree, with diastolic blood pressure. After taking adiposity and pulse rate into account, father's educational attainment had a small but statistically significant negative association with diastolic blood pressure in white but not in black students. Nearly 5 percent of students were recalled for a second test because the initial screening blood pressures equaled or exceeded 150 mm Hg systolic or 90 mm Hg diastolic, and almost half of students at the recall examination continued to have pressures of 145/85 or greater.     

Microvascular decompression of the left lateral medulla oblongata for severe refractory neurogenic hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate that microvascular decompression of the left medulla oblongata is a safe and effective modality for treating elevated blood pressure in patients with severe medically refractory "essential" hypertension (HTN). METHODS: Twelve patients with medically intractable HTN with or without autonomic dysreflexia underwent microvascular decompression of the left rostral ventrolateral medulla oblongata. Causes such as pheochromocytoma, carcinoid syndrome, and renal disease were ruled out before surgery. Indications for surgery included systolic blood pressures greater than 180 mm Hg refractory to three or more medications, severe blood pressure lability, or medically resistant HTN at systolic pressures greater than 160 mm Hg associated with autonomic dysreflexia and/or magnetic resonance images demonstrating left medullary compression. The median age and follow-up duration were 51 years and 4.1 years, respectively. RESULTS: Ten of 12 patients experienced reductions in systolic blood pressure greater than 20 mm Hg. Of these 10 patients, pressure reductions were temporary (6 mo) in two. Seven of eight patients experienced improvement in blood pressure lability and/or autonomic dysreflexia, with five patients showing sustained improvements. CONCLUSION: Microvascular decompression of the left rostral ventrolateral medulla oblongata may be an effective treatment modality for patients suffering from severe HTN and/or autonomic dysreflexia refractory to medical management.     

Constitutive expression of the Wilms'' tumor gene (WT1) in the leukemic cell line U937 blocks parts of the differentiation program

OBJECTIVE: To characterize relationships among blood pressure, pulse rate, vitamin C status and other protective and risk factors for older British people, from a national survey. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of survey data. SETTING: A population study, representative of mainland Britain. SUBJECTS: Among 914 people of both sexes living in the community, 373 were taking blood-pressure-lowering drugs and were therefore excluded from the analyses. INTERVENTIONS: Completion of an interview on health, lifestyle and dietary habits, recording of a 4-day dietary record, anthropometry and taking of a blood sample to determine haematological and biochemical status. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, pulse rate, indices of micronutrient status including plasma ascorbate concentration, nutrient intake and haematology. RESULTS: Plasma ascorbate concentration was inversely correlated to systolic and diastolic blood pressures and pulse rate. Other covariates of blood pressure included age, sex, domicile, plasma retinol, fibrinogen and gamma-tocopherol concentrations, erythrocyte count, prothrombin time and urine sodium: creatinine ratio. Covariates of pulse rate included sex, domicile, plasma fibrinogen and platelet count. Blood pressure was also correlated to intake of vitamin C. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma ascorbate concentration and intake of vitamin C are covariates of blood pressure in older people living in Britain. New intervention studies are now needed, to test for possible causalities.     

Old patients with hypertension. A 25-year observational study of a geographically defined population (Dalby), aged 67 years at entry

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of hypertension and other risk factors on mortality, in particular cardiovascular mortality, in a geographically defined population of elderly subjects. DESIGN: An observational 25-year study of a total population. SETTING: The local health centre in the village of Dalby in southern Sweden. SUBJECTS: All men and women born in 1902 or 1903, living in Dalby, were, at the age of 67, invited for medical and psychological examinations. The population comprised 188 subjects (109 men and 79 women); 156 (83%) of them took part in the first medical examination. Blood pressure, heart rate, weight and height were measured and laboratory tests performed at entry. Blood pressures were thereafter recorded six times, and this report is based on a 25-year follow-up period ending in October 1994. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Survival analyses were performed, based on definition of underlying causes of death, divided into all-cause and cardiovascular. RESULTS: At entry, females had higher blood pressure than males, both at baseline and during the first 16 years of the study, regardless of whether they were hypertensives or not. Most men smoked but only a few women. At the end of the follow-up of the present study in 1994, 138 out of 156 (88%) subjects had died and only 18 (12%) remained alive; 78 (57%) had died of a cardiovascular disease. In men, a diagnosis of hypertension as well as increased blood pressure at entry was associated with increased mortality. In women this was the case for blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular mortality. In men, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures during the study were significant risk factors for death, whereas in women this was not the case. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly male hypertensives ran an increased mortality risk even though they were treated according to the then current guidelines; female hypertensives seemed to run the same risk of dying as normotensive females.     

Acrophase amplitude of ambulatory blood pressure decreases in migraineurs

Ambulatory blood pressure was recorded and analyzed in 13 migraineurs during headache-free periods and in 11 healthy subjects. Systolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, and pulse rate were recorded for 48 hours (three times every hour from 6 AM to mid-night, once an hour at night). Circadian variation of blood pressure was analyzed using single cosinor analysis and group mean cosinor analysis methods. Single cosinor analysis identified significant circadian rhythm of systolic blood pressure in 10 of 11 control subjects (90.9%) and 5 of 13 migraineurs (38.5%, P < 0.02 versus controls, Fisher's exact test). Incidences of significant circadian rhythm of mean blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were 100% and 100% in controls, 46.2% and 53.8% in the migraineurs (P < 0.01, P < 0.02 versus controls). Incidences of significant rhythm of pulse pressure were 36.3% in controls and 38.5% in the migraine group (difference was not significant). Group mean cosinor analysis identified significant circadian rhythm in both the migraine group and the controls. The MESOR (midline estimating statistic of rhythm) values of systolic, mean, and diastolic blood pressures showed no significant differences between the migraine group and the controls. Acrophase amplitudes of systolic, mean, and diastolic blood pressure were 4.2, 5.2, and 5.9 mm Hg in the migraine group, respectively; and 7.2, 7.3, and 7.5 mm Hg in the controls, respectively. These amplitudes of systolic, mean, and diastolic blood pressures in the migraine group were significantly smaller than those in the controls. These data suggest that some migraineurs lose or alter their circadian blood pressure rhythm. Evaluating migraineurs as a group, significant circadian rhythm of blood pressure can be identified and oscillation amplitudes of blood pressures are decreased. The present results suggest that migraineurs may be subject to dysfunction of the circadian rhythm generator and the autonomic nervous system. Possible involvement of serotonergic projections from the raphe to the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus in migraine is discussed.     

Contribution of parental blood pressures to association between low birth weight and adult high blood pressure: cross sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the possibility that low birth weight is a feature of the inherited predisposition to high blood pressure. DESIGN: Cross sectional study. SETTING: Primary care medical centre in Edinburgh. SUBJECTS: One offspring of 452 families (231 men and 221 women aged 16-26 years) in whom blood pressure, weight, and height were measured in 1986 and whose parents had blood pressure measured in 1979. Birth weights were obtained from case records (270 offspring) or by questionnaires sent to the mothers (182 offspring). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Birth weight and adult systolic blood pressure in offspring in relation to parental blood pressure. RESULTS: If parental blood pressures were not considered, a 1 kg decrease in birth weight was associated with a 2.24 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure of offspring (P = 0.06) after correction for current weight and sex. However, parental blood pressures correlated positively with blood pressure of offspring, and higher maternal blood pressure was associated with lower birth weight (-3.03 g/mm Hg, P < 0.01). After correction for parental blood pressures, a 1 kg decrease in birth weight was associated with only a 1.71 mm Hg increase in the systolic blood pressure of the offspring (P = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: Low birth weight is a feature of the inherited predisposition to hypertension, perhaps because it is associated with higher maternal blood pressure during pregnancy. Parental blood pressure may be an important confounding factor in the relation between low birth weight and subsequent hypertension.     

Seasonal variation of blood pressure and its relationship to ambient temperature in an elderly population

OBJECTIVE: To measure the magnitude and timing of seasonal variation of blood pressure and related factors in the elderly living in the community, and to assess their potential impact on cardiovascular risk. DESIGN: Prospective study; from January 1991 to February 1992 blood pressure and other variables were measured at 2-monthly intervals in each subject in their own homes. SUBJECTS: Ninety-six men and women, age range 65-74 years, recruited from a single group general practice in Cambridge. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Seasonal variation of blood pressure, seasonal variation of prevalence of hypertension, seasonal variation of ambient temperature and body mass index. RESULTS: Both systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were greatest during the winter across the whole distribution of blood pressure. There was a fourfold increase in the proportion of subjects with blood pressures > 160/90 mmHg in winter compared with in summer. Regression analysis revealed highly significant seasonal differences in both SBP and DBP. After adjustment for confounding seasonal effects, a 1 degree C decrease in living-room temperature was associated with rises of 1.3 mmHg in SBP and 0.6 mmHg in DBP. CONCLUSIONS: Seasonal variation of blood pressure is heightened in older adults and may partly explain the greater cardiovascular disease mortality of elderly subjects during the winter. The blood pressures of elderly people may be inversely related to the ambient temperature. The public health implications of these findings deserve further investigation.     

Antihypertensive efficacy of treatment regimens used in Veterans Administration hypertension clinics. Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study Group on Antihypertensive Agents

There is continuing uncertainty about whether morbidity and mortality of treated hypertensive patients depends on the drug(s) used to treat or only on the level of blood pressure achieved. This study was undertaken in a sample of special Veterans Administration hypertension clinics to determine which antihypertensive drugs were selected by the involved healthcare providers and how effective they were in achieving normotension. Hypertensive veterans (n = 6100) were followed in six VA Hypertension Screening and Treatment Program clinics for 46 months beginning in May 1989. Their average age was 60.7 years; 53% lived in the Stroke Belt; 46% had target organ damage, 36% were black, 23% smoked, and 10% had diabetes mellitus. Antihypertensive regimens were divided into 12 all-inclusive categories. Blood pressures were averaged at the last study visit for all patients on a regimen. The regimens of diuretic or diuretic plus beta-blocker gave the lowest average pressures (140.6/82.3 mm Hg) and calcium antagonist the highest (149.0/86.5 mm Hg). ANOVA indicated that differences between seven common regimens and also between the four single drug regimens were highly significant (P<.0001). This pattern of low treated pressure with the "old" agents and higher treated pressure with newer agents was reflected in the percentage of patients controlled below 140/90 mm Hg and the percentage uncontrolled above 159/94 mm Hg. Blacks and patients with target organ damage resembled the entire cohort in average treated diastolic blood pressure, but the former had lower and the latter had higher treated systolic blood pressure than the entire cohort.     

"I can tell when my blood pressure is up, can't I?"

44 21–61 yr old insurance company employees were measured on blood pressure, mood and symptoms (using self-administered checklists), and predictions of their blood pressures, twice daily for 10 days. 20 Ss had elevated blood pressure, and 24 did not. The measures were correlated within-Ss to determine if blood pressure predictions were associated with moods, symptoms, or blood pressure readings and if moods and symptoms were related to blood pressure. Data show that self-predictions of blood pressure were most strongly associated with reported symptoms, next with reported moods, and least with actual blood pressure. A comparison of Ss who were accurate in predicting their blood pressure with those who were not showed no differences in blood pressure levels, systolic blood pressure variation, self-esteem, or private body-consciousness. Ss' beliefs that they could monitor blood pressure were little influenced by contrary information. Results suggest it would be an error to encourage Ss to believe they can successfully treat blood pressure elevations by monitoring symptoms related to blood pressure change. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting the nocturnal decrease in blood pressure: a community-based study in Ohasama

OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors affecting the nocturnal decrease in blood pressure. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of 823 community-based untreated subjects aged > 20 years. Screening and ambulatory blood pressures were measured and the effects of age and the ambulatory blood pressure on the nocturnal decrease were examined. RESULTS: The magnitude of the decrease and the percentage decrease in the nocturnal blood pressure increased with increasing daytime ambulatory blood pressure and decreased with increasing night-time ambulatory blood pressure. Although the magnitude of the nocturnal decrease in blood pressure increased with increasing daytime blood pressure, the nocturnal blood pressure levels in hypertensives were still higher than those in normotensive subjects. The magnitude decreased with increasing age for men but not for women, whereas the percentage decrease decreased with increasing age both for men and for women. The SD of the 24 h blood pressure correlated strongly to the magnitude of the nocturnal decrease (systolic blood pressure r = 0.62, P < 0.0001; diastolic blood pressure r = 0.52, P < 0.0001), suggesting that the SD of the 24 h blood pressure is representative of the nocturnal decrease. A minimal nocturnal decrease was observed frequently in elderly normotensive men but infrequently in hypertensive individuals from the general population. A marked nocturnal decrease was observed frequently in hypertensive women aged > 70 years. CONCLUSION: Although the magnitude of the nocturnal decrease in blood pressure increased with increasing daytime blood pressure, the nocturnal blood pressure levels increased with increasing daytime ambulatory blood pressure. Therefore, the blood pressure in hypertensive subjects should essentially be lowered throughout the 24 h period. A marked nocturnal decrease in blood pressure in some elderly hypertensive women was observed without treatment. The nocturnal blood pressure levels of such subjects should be considered during treatment.     

Effect of various lithotomy positions on lower-extremity blood pressure

BACKGROUND: Compartment syndrome of a lower extremity from hypoperfusion is a rare but potentially devastating complication of the lithotomy position during surgery. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of various lithotomy positions on lower-extremity blood pressures. METHODS: Blood pressure in eight young, healthy people was studied for 10 lithotomy positions. Blood pressure measurements were taken in both the upper arm (brachial artery) and the lower extremity (dorsalis pedis). The heart-to-ankle height gradient in each position was measured, and a predicted lower-extremity systolic pressure was calculated. The measured and predicted lower-extremity systolic blood pressures were compared with repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: As a group, the mean systolic blood pressures in the lower extremities correlated closely with the predicted values. However, the difference between measured and predicted pressures varied among the 10 positions (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although lower-extremity systolic blood pressures in the young, healthy volunteers correlated with predicted values, there was an additional reduction in pressure associated with the lithotomy position. This surprising finding suggests that a lengthy procedure necessitating the use of a lithotomy position for only a portion should be planned so the remainder of the procedure can take place before establishing the position or so the position can be changed to an alternative position when it is no longer needed.     

An increase of acidic isoform of catalase in red blood cells from HIV(+) population

The pressures in the radial and brachial artery in the same extremity were measured before and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CBP) in 18 patients. Brachial pressures were measured in two different ways, with and without forearm compression. The forearm compression was achieved by a swelled blood pressure cuff. There were no significant differences in these pressures before CBP. But the brachial pressures with the forearm compression were the highest among three kinds of pressures after CBP and there were significant differences between them. The aortic pressures during weaning from CBP were measured and compared with these pressures in 4 patients. The brachial pressures with the forearm compression were closest to aortic pressures. Therefore brachial pressure with forearm compression was recommended as a good pressure monitor when CPB was about to be finished. The patients were them divided into two groups. The patient is in the first group had less than 10 mmHg pressure difference between brachial pressure and radial pressure just after CPB. The patients in the second group had higher pressure in brachial than those in radial for over 10 mmHg just after CPB. There were no significant differences in duration in CPB, lowest rectal temperature, hematocrit and doses of catecholamines between the two groups.     

Health resort treatment of eye diseases caused by ischemia]

The authors discuss the results of ophthalmodynamometric tests used for the assessment of cerebro-retinal vessels reactivity following carbon dioxide baths and "peat collars". An analysis of systemic and local blood pressure in the ophthalmic artery measured with Weigelin and Lobstein technique enables to assess changes in blood pressures following a/m balneologic procedures. It was found that blood pressure does not change parallelly due to the mechanism of cerebral autoregulation. Transient decrease in blood pressure in the ophthalmic artery is produced by the dilatation of the internal carotid artery indicating a potent vasodilating action of carbon dioxide.