Baroreceptor function in the hypertensive black African.

Hypertension in the black African differs in some respects from white Europeans: complications due to accelerated atherosclerosis are rare and treatment with beta-blockers alone is ineffective. It is not known if baroreceptor function is depressed in African hypertensives to the same extent as it is in whites. Therefore, we have assessed baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS) by the phenylephrine method in 19 African hypertensive patients living in the Gambia, West Africa. The results were compared to predicted BRS values for white patients of the same age and blood pressure calculated from a regression equation derived from 61 hypertensive patients studied in Oxford. It was found that baroreceptor reflex sensitivity was reduced in the African hypertensives and the log mean BRS was similar to the predicted value for Europeans of the same age and level of blood pressure (0.473 +/- 0.24 msec/mmHg and 0.489 +/- 0.21 msec/mmHg respectively). The resting mean arterial pressure in the African patients varied from 117 to 194 mmHg. The results indicated that African hypertensives have a depression of baroreflex sensitivity which is similar to European hypertensive patients.