Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of nitroglycerin(NTG) on pulse wave velocity(PWV) in patients with hypertension(HTN).Methods36 volunteers,mean age 48.1±10.2 years,were divided into HTN group and non-hypertension(NHTN) group according to whether he or she had hypertension or not.The baseline PWV and PWV at 5th minute and 10th minute after sublingual NTG were detected.PWVs of the two groups were compared.ResultsThe basal PWV in HTN group was higher than that in NHTN group.PWV was reduced significantly after NTG were given sublingually 5 minutes or 10 minutes compared with baseline condition(both P<0.01).PWV 10 minutes after sublingual NTG raised a little compared with that after 5 minutes(P<0.01).PWVs 5 minutes or 10 minutes after sublingual NTG in HTN group were higher than those in NHTN group(both P<0.05).ConclusionNTG can reduce PWV in patients with HTN.

Key words: pulse wave velocity, nitroglycerin, arterial stiffness