Key result
Autonomic dysfunction's role in the genesis of essential hypertension remains difficult to prove due to assessment limitations, differing control mechanisms, and the dynamic nature of the disease.
Highlights the methodological and physiological challenges in establishing a causal link between autonomic dysfunction and essential hypertension.
Cautions against causal attribution of essential hypertension to autonomic dysfunction in practice; leaves open validation via integrated, dynamic assessments.
In spite of the popular belief that "nervous tension," "stress," and hypertension are causally related, it has been difficult to prove a role of autonomic dysfunction in the genesis of essential hypertension. There are three major reasons for this: 1) autonomic function cannot be assessed with one simple test, 2) the short-term "phasic" and long-term "tonic" autonomic control of blood pressure are not necessarily interrelated, and 3) hypertension is a dynamic process in the course of which there are changes in autonomic control. Some of the controversies in the field stem from the lack of appreciation of these limitations.
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Stevo Julius (1992) conducted a review in essential hypertension. autonomic dysfunction was evaluated. Autonomic dysfunction's role in the genesis of essential hypertension remains difficult to prove due to assessment limitations, differing control mechanisms, and the dynamic nature of the disease.
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