Relationship between increased systemic inflammation and impaired aortic elasticity in young patients with prehypertension

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the possible relationship between vascular inflammatory status [namely, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and white blood cell (WBC)] and aortic elasticity parameters in patients with prehypertension. The study population consisted of 25 newly diagnosed prehypertensive individuals (18 men, mean age=34±6 years) and 25 healthy controls (16 men, mean age=33±6 years) eligible for this study. Aortic elasticity parameters were calculated from aortic diameters measured by echocardiography and blood pressures, simultaneously measured by sphygmomanometry. hs-CRP measurements were taken with latex-enhanced reagent using a Behring BN ProSpec analyzer. Baseline characteristics of patients with prehypertension and controls were homogeneous. Inflammatory markers were significantly higher in patients with prehypertension compared with those of controls [for WBC (×10(9)/l): 11.46±0.77 (11.50) vs. 8.94±0.91 (9.20), P<0.001; for hs-CRP (μg/dl): 137.84±50.71 (130.00) vs. 78.30±35.20 (65.27), P<0.001]. There was a strong positive correlation between the mean aortic stiffness index and markers of inflammation (for WBC, r=0.857, P<0.001; for hs-CRP, r=0.858, P<0.001), whereas strong negative correlations were observed between aortic elasticity parameters and markers of inflammation (for aortic distensibility of WBC and hs-CRP, r=-0.862, P<0.001; r=-0.869, P<0.001, respectively, and for aortic strain of WBC and hs-CRP, r=-0.890, P<0.001; r=-0.906, P<0.001, respectively). Young prehypertensives have increased markers of inflammation, namely, hs-CRP and WBC, compared with controls. More importantly, impaired arterial stiffness is significantly associated with the markers of inflammation in patients with prehypertension.