[Changes in blood pressure and cardiac contraction frequency in diabetes mellitus patients in an orthostatic posture and under physical load].

The author studied the character of changes in arterial pressure (AP) and rate of cardiac contractions (RCC) in the orthostatic position and during physical exercise in 93 patients with diabetes mellitus. A considerable decrease in systolic AP was noted in the orthostatic position, particularly in the first minutes and in individuals of the older age group, while the diastolic pressure showed no essential changes. The RCC at rest and its gradual increase in the orthostatic position were higher in patients with diabetes mellitus than in healthy individuals. In patients with neuro- and nephropathy the diastolic and systolic AP decreased in the orthostatic position; the RCC in patients with neuropathy hardly changed in this case. The capacity for physical exertion in diabetic patients, particularly in those with neuropathy was low. The degree of growth in RCC and in systolic AP was less in the patients than in healthy individuals. The increase in systolic AP and RCC in patients with neuropathy, however, was greater than that in the other groups of patients. The disorders in cardiovascular regulations which were revealed in some of the patients suggest that affections of the vegetative nervous system may also develop in the absence of affection of the peripheral nerves.