RAPID
COMMUNICATION
Diminished
Circadian Blood Pressure Rhythm in Patients with
Asymptomatic Normotensive Pheochromocytoma
T.
ZELINKA, J. WIDIMSKÝ, J. WEISSEROVÁ
Third
Medical Department, General Faculty Hospital,
First Faculty of Medicine,
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Received
December 21, 2000
Accepted April 12, 2001
Summary
In
our study, the circadian blood pressure (BP)
rhythm was studied in subjects with asymptomatic
and normotensive pheochromocytoma. We have
therefore performed 24-hour BP monitoring not
only in 6 subjects with asymptomatic
pheochromocytoma, but also in 33 patients with
symptomatic pheochromocytoma and in 10
normotensive subjects, who served as a control
group. Circadian BP rhythm was expressed by
assessing a relative night-time BP decline. We
found a similar BP rhythm, catecholamine
excretion and tumor size in subjects with both
forms of pheochromocytoma. Subjects with
asymptomatic pheochromocytoma had a significantly
lower night-time systolic BP decline (P=0.01) and
diastolic BP decline (P=0.006) than normotensive
controls. We conclude that the attenuated
night-time BP decline in normotensive and
asymptomatic subjects with pheochromocytoma might
be a possible sign of partial desensitization of
the cardiovascular system to catecholamines.
Key words
Pheochromocytoma
· Circadian blood pressure
rhythm
Reprint
requests
T.
Zelinka, Third Medical Department, General
Faculty Hospital, First Faculty of Medicine,
Charles University, U nemocnice 1, 128 08 Prague
2, Czech Republic. E-mail: tzeli@lf1.cuni.cz
|
