RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCREASED BLOOD-PRESSURE AND HYPOALGESIA - ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF AN ABNORMALITY OF PAIN PERCEPTION IN ARTERIAL-HYPERTENSION IN HUMANS
C. Rosa et al., RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCREASED BLOOD-PRESSURE AND HYPOALGESIA - ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF AN ABNORMALITY OF PAIN PERCEPTION IN ARTERIAL-HYPERTENSION IN HUMANS, Journal of human hypertension, 8(2), 1994, pp. 119-126
An association between hypertension and decreased pain perception (hyp
oalgesia) has been shown in experimental hypertension and confirmed in
humans by electrical tooth pulp stimulation. The aim of this study wa
s to confirm, using two other techniques, whether hypertension is asso
ciated with hypoalgesia in humans. In 77 untreated essential hypertens
ive outpatients, 37 normotensive outpatients and 27 normotensive volun
teers subjective cutaneous sensitivity was assessed by an electrical s
timulator. Thirty-three measurements were repeated after one month. In
addition, in eight normotensive volunteers and eight hypertensives th
e thresholds of the polysynaptic components R2 and R3 of the blink ref
lex to electrical stimulation of the supraorbitalis nerve were evaluat
ed. Tooth pulp stimulation was done in 85 of the subjects who measured
cutaneous sensitivity and in all of the blink reflex study. Cutaneous
perceptive, pain and tolerance thresholds were significantly higher i
n the hypertensives compared with both normotensive groups, with no si
gnificant difference between these two. The results were identical whe
n age and sex-matched subgroups were compared and a high reproducibili
ty was found for all three parameters. Similar findings were obtained
for the tooth pulp thresholds and highly statistically significant cor
relations were found between cutaneous and tooth pulp sensitivity and
between these indices and blood pressure. The thresholds of R2 and R3
were also significantly higher in the hypertensives and a significant
correlation was found between R3 threshold and diastolic pressure. The
se results confirm that hypertension is associated to hypoalgesia in h
umans.