Genetic and ethnic influences on the distribution of sodium and potassium in normotensive and hypertensive subjects.
To examine the interrelationship of blood pressure, ethnic origin, genetic predisposition to hypertension, and cellular sodium handling, 49 hypertensive and 70 normotensive subjects were studied. Those with a positive family history of essential hypertension were found to have higher intracellular sodium levels and lower ratios of intracellular potassium to sodium than those without, regardless of their blood pressure. Only hypertensive subjects with a positive family history had depressed sodium efflux rate constants. Hypertensive subjects with no family history of essential hypertension had normal intracellular sodium levels and sodium pump activity. Black subjects had significantly higher levels of intracellular sodium than whites, regardless of blood pressure. Black hypertensive subjects had higher plasma sodium and lower plasma potassium concentrations than normotensive subjects did. These results suggest that cellular sodium handling is more closely associated with a genetic predisposition to essential hypertension than to hypertension itself and cast doubt on the significance of abnormalities of cellular sodium handling in the development of essential hypertension.
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001794:Blood Pressure; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011188:Potassium / Q000097:blood*; D012964:Sodium / Q000097:blood*; D044465:White People
D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium