[Status of the venous system and pulmonary circulation at early stages of development of arterial hypertension (clinico-experimental comparisons)].

The study was undertaken to examine 116 patients with borderline arterial hypertension (BAH), 67 normotensives without a family history of hypertensive disease (HD), and 29 normotensive relatives with HD. The hemodynamics of systemic and pulmonary circulations were investigated. For comparison, the functional activity of the portal vein was studied in spontaneously hypertensive rats of different age. High systolic pressure in the pulmonary artery and predominant hyperkinetic central hemodynamics were observed in the normotensives with a family history of HD and patients with BAH. The findings are in good agreement with experimental evidence for a higher functional activity of the venous system in early essential hypertension.