Simon A, Levenson J
Presse Med. 1986 Dec 20;15(45):2243-6.
The buffering function of arteries consists of damping down cardiac pulsatility. This function can be evaluated by measuring arterial compliance using pulsed Doppler and pulse wave velocity measurements and analysis of pressure and flow waves in arteries. In human hypertension, the reduction of arterial compliance is well-documented; it is not only due to increased stretching of the arteries consecutive to the rise in blood pressure, but also to the fact that structural and/or functional changes in these vessels, as suggested by the fact that compliance is reduced in patients with borderline and mild hypertension and does not necessarily vary in parallel to drug-induced changes in blood pressure. Furthermore, arterial compliance is heterogeneously altered in borderline hypertension according to the level of cardiac output and in sustained hypertension according to the degree of arterial aging. Finally, reduced arterial compliance, by impairing the buffering function of arteries, increases arterial pulsatility and its adverse effects on cardiac load and on cyclic stress of arteries.
动脉的缓冲功能包括减弱心脏搏动性。该功能可通过使用脉冲多普勒测量动脉顺应性、测量脉搏波速度以及分析动脉中的压力和血流波来评估。在人类高血压中，动脉顺应性降低已有充分记录；这不仅是由于血压升高导致动脉拉伸增加，还因为这些血管的结构和/或功能发生了变化，如临界高血压和轻度高血压患者的顺应性降低，且其不一定与药物诱导的血压变化平行变化这一事实所表明的那样。此外，临界高血压时动脉顺应性根据心输出量水平而发生异质性改变，持续性高血压时则根据动脉老化程度而改变。最后，动脉顺应性降低会损害动脉的缓冲功能，增加动脉搏动性及其对心脏负荷和动脉循环应力的不良影响。
