Plasma prostaglandins PGE2 and PGF2 alpha, total effective vascular compliance and renal plasma flow in essential hypertension.

Plasma prostaglandins PGE2 and PGF2 alpha, cardiac hemodynamics, total effective vascular compliance, plasma (PV), interstitial (IFV) and extracellular fluid volumes, and renal indices were determined in 13 men with either borderline or sustained essential hypertension. PGE2 measured in the central venous blood was increased in borderline and in sustained hypertensives (p less than 0.01), while PGF2 alpha remained within normal ranges. Pulmonary degradation of both prostaglandins was decreased. In the overall population, the PGE2/PGF2 alpha ratio was: (i) negatively correlated with central venous pressure (r = -0.68; p less than 0.01), and (ii) positively correlated with total effective vascular compliance (r = 0.76; p less than 0.001), the PV/IFV ratio (r = 0.63; p less than 0.02) and the renal plasma flow (r = 0.79; p less than 0.001). The study suggests that, in hypertensive patients, prostaglandins PGE2 and PGF2 alpha play an important role on the compliance of the venous system and on the control of renal blood flow, contributing to the autoregulatory mechanisms of the hypertensive vascular disease.