Effect of intravenous administration of vitamin C IV on brachial arterial endothelial function in essential hypertension patients

Objective To evaluate the effect of intravenous vitamin C on brachial arterial endothelial function in essential hypertension patients. Methods Measuring the brachial artery diameter with high-resolution ultrasonography during baseline,reactive hyperemia and sublingual administration of nitroglycerin in 50 patients with essential hypertension before and after vitamin C IV. Then the reactive hyperemia-induced and nitroglycerin-induced percentage changes of brachial artery diameter were calculated and compared. Results After intravenous administration of vitamin C significantly compared the percentage change in the brachial artery diameter induced by reactive hyperemia in all of the patients before and after vitamin C IV,the significant difference was found 16.8 % ± 2.9 % vs 5.8 % ± 2.7 %P 0.001. But no significant difference was found of the percentage change in brachial artery diameter induced by sublingual nitroglycerin before and after vitamin C IV 22.3 % ± 4.2 % to 23.1 % ± 4.6 %,P = 0.29. Conclusion Brachial endothelial dysfunction can be reversed by intravenous administration of vitamin C in patients with essential hypertension.