Racial differences in minimum lower leg vascular resistance in normotensive young adults with positive and negative parental histories of hypertension.

Objective To determine whether peripheral hemodynamic differences exist in young adult normotensive African Americans and white Americans with a positive and negative parental history of hypertension.Methods The participants were healthy men of whom 13 were African Americans and nine white Americans with a positive parental history and 19 were African Americans and 13 white Americans with a negative parental history. Lower leg blood flows were obtained at rest and during reactive hyperemia. Lower leg minimum vascular resistance (Rmin) was computed from reactive hyperemic blood flow measured by venous occlusion plethysmography, and mean arterial blood pressure was determined by auscultation of the brachial artery.Results Resting blood flow and mean arterial pressure were similar in all groups. A significant racex parental history interaction effect was observed for lower leg Rmin. In the white men the lower leg Rmin was significantly greater in the positive than the negative parental group (P < 0.05). Lowe...