RESUMEN
Forearm hemodynamics using pulsed Doppler flowmeter measurements were studied in 60 hemodynamics men (30 nonobese and 30 obese) and in 45 hypertensive women (15 nonobese and 30 obese subjects). Age and blood pressure of nonobese and obese patients were identical in men as well as in women. Blood flow, expressed in milliliters/minute or corrected for body surface area, was significantly higher in obese hypertensive patients. When blood flow was expressed per unit liter of forearm volume, the difference was no longer present. The increased blood flow in milliliters/minute in obese hypertensive patients was due to an increased blood velocity, while arterial diameter was similar in nonobese and obese hypertensive patients. Forearm vascular resistance, expressed either in absolute values or in normalized values was significantly higher in nonobese than in obese hypertensive patients. When men and women with similar body weight and mean arterial pressure were compared, women were characterized by lower values of arterial diameter, body surface area and forearm volume, whereas vascular resistance in absolute value or corrected for body surface area was higher. This increase was no longer present when vascular resistance was normalized for forearm volume. This study provides evidence that body composition and body mass index evolve as determinants of arterial blood velocity whereas the gender of the patient seems to influence the arterial diameter.