Transcutaneous Carbon Dioxide Treatment Is Capable of Reducing Peripheral Vascular Resistance in Hypertensive Patients.

AIM: We aimed to investigate the effects of a single carbon dioxide (CO2) treatment on arterial stiffness by monitoring the changes of aortic pulse-wave velocity (PWV) and aortic augmentation index (AIXao), which are indicators of arterial stiffness.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

PWV and AIXao were measured by an invasively validated oscillometric device. The measurements of stiffness parameters were performed before the CO2 treatment, and at 1, 4 and 8 h after the first treatment.

RESULTS

Thirty-one patients were included. No significant changes were found in PWV. AIXao decreased significantly 1 h and 4 h after CO2 treatment compared to baseline values (p=0.034 and p<0.001). AIXao increased 8 h after the CO2 treatment, but remained significantly lower than baseline AIXao values (p=0.016).

CONCLUSION

CO2 treatment is capable of reducing peripheral vascular resistance. We hypothesize that CO2 is not only a temporal vasodilator but is also capable of activating vasodilation pathways.