Clinical characteristics of supine hypertension in de novo Parkinson disease

Supine hypertension is frequently associated with autonomic failure. However, its clinical characteristics in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) remain unclear. The present study aimed to clarify the characteristics of supine hypertension in patients with de novo PD.

The subjects were 72 patients with de novo PD. We studied blood pressure and plasma norepinephrine levels after the patients rested for 20 min in the supine position. Changes in blood pressure were also examined on head-up tilt-table testing.

The disease duration was 1.7 ± 1.6 years (average ± SD). Thirty-three (45.8 %) patients had supine hypertension (defined as a blood pressure of ≥140/90 mmHg). Supine blood pressure positively correlated with the degree of orthostatic hypotension. Age and the proportion of patients with akinetic-rigid motor subtype or preexisting hypertension were higher among patients with supine hypertension than among those without supine hypertension. The Mini-Mental State Examination score was lower in patients with supine hypertension than in those without supine hypertension. Sex, disease duration, disease severity, and peripheral sympathetic nervous activity as evaluated by the cardiac uptake of ¹²³I-metaiodobenzylguanidine and the plasma norepinephrine level did not differ between patients with and those without supine hypertension.

Older age, akinetic-rigid motor subtype, and preexisting hypertension are independent risk factors for supine hypertension. Supine hypertension alone may be associated with milder peripheral sympathetic nervous denervation than orthostatic hypotension alone. As for global cognitive decline, supine hypertension is a far riskier comorbidity of early-stage PD than is orthostatic hypotension.