• Decrease in supine systolic blood pressure [ Time Frame: 12 hours ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

• Decrease in pressure natriuresis [ Time Frame: 12 hours ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

Overnight Medication Trials:

Patients will be studied on the GCRC while in 150 mEq/day sodium balance and on a diet free of substances which interfere with catecholamine determination. Subjects will be asked to use the bathroom to empty their bladder at 8:00 PM. They will be given a randomly chosen medication bosentan (Tracleer) 62.5 -125 mg po, captopril 25-50mg po, carbidopa 25-200mg po, clonidine 0.1-0.2mg po, desmopressin 0.2 - 0.6mg po (DDAVP), ¬diltiazem 30-60 mg po, dipyridamole 200 mg and aspirin 25 mg po (Aggrenox), eplerenone (Inspra) 50-100 mg po, guanfacine (Tenex) 1-3 mg po, hydralazine 10-50 mg po, hydrochlorothiazide 12.5-100 mg po, L- arginine 6-17 g po, losartan 25-100mg po, metoprolol tartrate (Lopressor) 25-100 mg po, nebivolol hydrochloride (Bystolic) 2.5-40 mg po, nitroglycerin-transdermal 0.05-0.2 mg patch, nifedipine (adalat) doses 10-30 mg, prazosin hydrochloride 0.5-1 mg po, sildenafil (Viagra) 25- 100 mg po, tamsulosin hydrochloride (Flomax) 0.4-0.8 mg po. The combination desmopressin 0.2 mg po (DDAVP) and nitroglycerin-transdermal 0.05-0.2 mg. The combinations desmopressin 0.2 mg po and nifedipine (10-30 mg). A placebo pill or skin patch will be done as a control to measure their supine blood pressure without medication intervention. They will then be asked to lie down with the head of the bed elevated 10 degrees. An automated blood pressure cuff (Dinamap) will be wrapped around an upper arm and blood pressure will be measured automatically 2 times in a row every 2 hours. At 8 AM the following morning the study ends. The subjects will then stand at the bedside as motionless as possible for 30 minutes for blood pressure and heart rate determination.

Urine will be collected for 24 hours for determination of volume and sodium, potassium and catecholamines (for some medication trials) in 12 hour segments, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. to ascertain how the medications affect urine production.

For medication trials affecting renal Na and/or water regulation (e.g. desmopressin, carbidopa), blood samples will be collected (5 mL, 1 teaspoon) at 8 PM and 8 AM for determination of a basic metabolic panel.

Raising the head of the bed during the night is a non-pharmacologic measure that may reduce supine blood pressure, nocturnal natriuresis and improve orthostatic hypotension the following morning in autonomic failure patients with supine hypertension. However, it is not known if tilting the bed with the head up is better than raising only the head of the bed. To compare the effect of these two ways of raising the head of the bed on nighttime blood pressure and nocturnal natriuresis, some patients will undergo two additional tests. On two separate nights (either consecutive or not), patients will receive the placebo and will be assigned by simple randomization to lie down in one of two different bed positions:

1. The head of the bed elevated 10 degrees (~ 7 inches); or
2. The whole bed tilted head-up 5 degrees in reverse trendelenburg (head of the bed elevated ~7 inches).

Blood pressure, orthostatic tolerance at 8 AM and urine collections will be performed as described above.