Increased sympathetic tone contributes to cardiovascular dysfunction in sepsis

Excerpt

The cardiovascular dysfunction of sepsis/septic shock is characterized by hypotension, tachycardia/bradycardia, endothelial dysfunction and hyporesponsiveness to vasoconstrictors. Hypotension and low tissue perfusion trigger an increase in sympathetic tone probably as an attempt to restore blood pressure to normal levels. The persistently higher sympathetic stimulation may lead to the exhaustion of the capacity of vascular response and thus create a vicious circle contributing to vascular hyporesponsiveness and higher adrenergic stimulation. In addition, in septic shock patients, increased arterial levels of norepinephrine (NE) were significantly associated with mortality. The aim of this work was to evaluate the vascular response to an adrenergic agonist during severe sepsis and the effects of the early inhibition of sympathetic tone in sepsis-induced cardiovascular dysfunction. …