Fall in Pressure in Radial Artery during Reactive Hyperemia

Under conditions of rapid flow, the arterial bed between the aorta and radial artery offers an appreciable resistance to flow. During reactive hyperemia in normal subjects, approximately 30 per cent of the energy of pressure may be lost between the aorta and radial artery. Hypertension produced in normal subjects by infusion of levarterenol increases the gradient in pressure during reactive hyperemia between the aorta and radial artery. Hypertension in patients with hypertensive disease does not increase the gradient during reactive hyperemia beyond that which is produced in normal subjects.