[Determinants of the respiratory system status in hypertensive disease]

To analyze the respiratory system in hypertensive disease (HD).

Forty-six hypertensive patients (mean age 43.2 +/- 4.0 years) were examined. Office blood pressure (BP) was measured. Electrocardiography, echocardiography, color Doppler ultrasonography of the brachial artery, 24-hour BP monitoring, spirography, body plethysmography, and study of the diffusion lung capacity for carbon monoxide were performed. The serum levels of interleukins 6, 8, and 10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured.

Inflammatory processes have been ascertained to contribute to the development and progression of HD. The increase in HD degree and stage is attended by a significant elevation of the plasma concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines, TNF, and CRP, which is due to the contribution of inflammatory processes in the vessel wall to the development of endothelial dysfunction, vascular remodeling, and organ lesions, including diminished lung function in HD.

Arterial hypertension, inflammatory indicators, endothelial function, and the degree of lesions to organs, including those in the respiratory system, are related. The basis for this relation is the common neurohumoral mechanisms of progression of nonspecific inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and target organ lesions.