Objective: To investigate structural and functional features of cutaneous microvasculature in men of working age with newly diagnosed arterial hypertension (AH).
Materials and methods: The study included 161 apparently healthy men from 30 to 60 years, who underwent a comprehensive examination of cardiovascular system "from the heart to the capillaries". Control group (CG) included 60 normotensive men. AH group included 101 men with elevated BP.
Results: There is no rarefaction of the capillary bed and latent fluid retention in the interstitial space in the skin in men with AH. No data were obtained for increased endothelial, neurogenic and myogenic tone of resistive cutaneous precapillary arterioles in AH group, but a decrease in the perfusion efficiency of the endothelial and myogenic mechanisms of tissue perfusion modulation was noted.
Conclusion: Obtained results allow making the assumption that metabolic disorders at the level of capillaries that are of a systemic nature prevail in men with the onset of AH.
Keywords: Arterial hypertension; arteriole tone; capillaroscopy; laser Doppler flowmetry; microcirculation.