Hormonal aspects of the relation of liver cirrhosis to essential hypertension.

The association of liver cirrhosis with arterial essential hypertension has been previously described. The present study extends the previous reports by investigating the hormonal relationships that may occur in patients with established essential hypertension associated to liver cirrhosis. We studied the renin-angiotensin, the adrenergic systems and other vasoactive hormones such as arginine-vasopressin, atrial natriuretic peptide, endothelin and parathyroid hormone in cirrhotic patients with and without essential hypertension. The data suggested that the coincidence of arterial hypertension in cirrhotic patients was characterized by the following findings: a decreased renin-angiotensin activity; a reduced systemic vasodilatation; an increased peripheral pressor effect of vasoactive hormones and an increased effective blood volume.