Abstract
Blood pressure has been studied in patients with orthostatic hypotension of several causes, including high spinal cord transection. Observations have included heart rate, the effect of angiotensin infusion, and measurement of plasma renin concentration intermittently throughout the investigation. Evidence is presented that a rise of blood pressure and also of plasma renin concentration may occur if sympathetic fibres are active. Release may, however, depend upon spinal sympathetic activity as change of posture can induce an elevation of plasma renin concentration in patients with high spinal cord transection. Such patients may have high resting values of plasma renin and the renin response to change of posture may play a part in the response to repeated change of posture for a few minutes and also in the chronic vascular adaptation which chronic paraplegics achieve.
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Johnson, R., Park, D. & Frankel, H. Orthostatic hypotension and the renin-angiotensin system in paraplegia. Spinal Cord 9, 146–152 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1971.25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1971.25
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