The most common cause of renal artery stenosis is atherosclerosis, the same condition that causes narrowing of the arteries in coronary heart disease and stroke, and the risk factors are the same as well. Cholesterol plaques build up along the walls of the renal artery and gradually cause narrowing.
Oxytocin is a commonly used uterotonic that can cause significant and even fatal hypotension, particularly when given as a bolus. The resulting hypotension can be produced by a decrease in systemic vascular resistance or cardiac output through a decrease in venous return.
1 Oxytocin has a role in social behaviors in many species, so it likely also does in humans. 2  In a 2003 study, both humans and dog oxytocin levels in the blood rose after five to 24 minutes of a petting session. Uterine contraction: Important for cervical dilation before birth, oxytocin causes contractions during the second and third stages of labor. 2  Oxytocin release during breastfeeding causes mild but often painful contractions during the first few weeks of lactation.