Plasma renin and cardiovascular responses to the cold pressor test differ in black and white populations: The SABPA study

Low plasma renin levels and augmented cardiovascular reactivity to stress are common in blacks and have been linked to the development of hypertension in this population. We (i) compared cardiovascular and plasma renin reactivity to a cold pressor test between a black and white population; and (ii) investigated the associations between cardiovascular and plasma renin reactivity within the black and white populations. Our population consisted of 153 black and 188 white men and women (age range, 20-65 years). We measured blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), total peripheral resistance (TPR), Windkessel arterial compliance, and determined plasma renin levels at rest and during the cold pressor test. Reactivity was calculated for each participant as the percentage change from the resting value. We found lower renin and elevated BP in blacks compared with whites at rest and during stress (both, P < 0.001). During stress, HR increased more in blacks (P < 0.001), whereas SV (P < 0.001) and arterial compliance (P = 0.013) decreased more in blacks compared with whites. TPR reactivity was positively associated with renin reactivity in blacks only (beta = 0.17; P = 0.041), while in whites diastolic BP reactivity was positively associated with renin reactivity (beta = 0.21; P = 0.005). Although blacks had suppressed renin levels at rest and during acute stress, vascular resistance reactivity associated positively with renin reactivity only in the black population. These results suggest that low renin levels in blacks during rest and stress are linked to increased peripheral vascular responses to stress, which may contribute to elevated BP in blacks.