Inflammatory activation and left ventricular mass in essential hypertension

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Esther Roselló-Lletí1, Miguel Rivera, Luís Martínez-Dolz

  • 1Cardiocirculatory Unit, Research Center, Hospital Universitario La Fe, Valencia, Spain.

American Journal of Hypertension
|March 25, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Inflammation, indicated by elevated cytokine levels, is linked to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertensive patients. Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNF-R1) independently predicts LVH development.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Hypertension Research
  • Inflammation Biology

Background:

  • Inflammation is a known risk factor for hypertension.
  • Inflammatory cytokines may contribute to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).
  • Essential hypertension (HT) patients require assessment for LVH predictors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the association between cytokine levels and LVH in hypertensive patients.
  • To determine the predictive role of specific cytokines for LVH.
  • To investigate soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors, IL-6, and IL-1ra in HT with LVH.

Main Methods:

  • 251 asymptomatic hypertensive patients were studied (142 with LVH, 109 without).
  • Evaluations included physical examination, lab tests, and echo-Doppler.
  • Plasma levels of sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2, IL-6, and IL-1ra were measured.

Main Results:

  • Patients with LVH exhibited higher inflammatory cytokine levels (P < 0.001).
  • sTNF-R1 was an independent predictor of left ventricular mass index (LVMI) (P < 0.01).
  • sTNF-R1 demonstrated the highest predictive area under the curve (0.71 ± 0.03) for LVH detection.

Conclusions:

  • Cytokine levels correlate significantly with LVMI in hypertensive individuals.
  • sTNF-R1 is identified as an independent predictor of LVMI.
  • Plasma sTNF-R1 concentration may serve as a predictive factor for LVH in essential HT.
Abstract

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