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Arterial stiffness is related to systemic inflammation in essential hypertension

Azra Mahmud1, John Feely

  • 1Department of Therapeutics, Hypertension Clinic, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.

Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979)
|October 12, 2005
PubMed

Insights

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, is independently linked to arterial stiffness in patients with essential hypertension. This finding highlights the role of systemic inflammation in cardiovascular risk.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Inflammation Research
  • Hypertension Studies

Background:

  • High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) indicates vascular inflammation and is an atherosclerotic risk factor.
  • Arterial stiffness is linked to hs-CRP in healthy individuals and those with systemic vasculitis.
  • Essential hypertension is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, potentially influenced by inflammatory markers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-alpha, hs-CRP) and arterial stiffness in untreated essential hypertension patients.
  • To determine if hs-CRP is an independent predictor of arterial stiffness markers in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Noninvasive assessment of augmentation index and pulse wave velocity in 78 untreated essential hypertension patients.
  • Measurement of plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) using ELISA.
  • Statistical analysis including correlation and multiple stepwise regression.

Main Results:

  • Pulse wave velocity showed significant correlations with hs-CRP (r=0.31), TNF-alpha (r=0.30), and IL-6 (r=0.21).
  • Heart rate-corrected augmentation index correlated with hs-CRP (r=0.37) and IL-6 (r=0.24).
  • hs-CRP emerged as an independent predictor of both pulse wave velocity and augmentation index.

Conclusions:

  • Systemic inflammation, as indicated by hs-CRP, is independently associated with aortic stiffness (pulse wave velocity) and wave reflection (augmentation index) in essential hypertension.
  • hs-CRP is a significant marker linking inflammation to arterial stiffness in hypertensive individuals.
  • These findings underscore the importance of managing inflammation in hypertension to mitigate cardiovascular risk.

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