K. Ohishi et al., CIRCADIAN-RHYTHMS OF BLOOD-PRESSURE AND HEART-RATE IN PATIENTS WITH HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TYPE-I-ASSOCIATED MYELOPATHY, Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine, 169(1), 1993, pp. 67-75
Noninvasive ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate monitoring were u
sed to investigate cardiovascular dysfunction in patients with human T
-lymphotropic virus type-I(HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy (HAM). The su
bjects were 23 patients with HAM, and 23 sex- and age-matched normoten
sive healthy volunteers (controls). Circadian rhythms of blood pressur
e and heart rate were present in both the HAM patients and controls. A
mplitudes and the 24-hr mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures we
re significantly lower in the patients than in the controls. The 24 hr
mean heart rate was significantly higher in the patients, the differe
nce being particularly marked during the night. Differences in the acr
o-phases of the systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rate
between patients and controls were small but still significant. These
results suggest that subclinical cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction
is present in HAM patients.