Can the heart initiate some forms of hypertension?

An active role for the heart in the initiation of hypertension can be postulated in two different sets of conditions. 1) Activation of pressor reflexes from the ventricles, coronary arteries, or aorta has been shown to produce substantial rises of arterial pressure; experience with postcoronary bypass hypertension suggests that these reflexes could be responsible for some types of paroxysmal hypertension. 2) Increased cardiac action caused by either neural or humoral factors can initiate a rise in cardiac output and blood pressure; sustained hypertension could be produced experimentally in conscious dogs by electrical stimulation of the stellate ganglion or by continuous infusion of dobutamine in the left coronary artery. Evidence suggesting that this could occur in humans was derived from a study of the relationship of cardiac output to cardiopulmonary volume in essential hypertension.