title: Serotonin and heart rate in hypertensive and normotensive subjects.
abstract: Plasma and platelet levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5 HT) may be altered in essential hypertension. To establish the determinants and correlates of 5 HT in plasma and platelets, we studied 53 untreated subjects with essential hypertension (26 men; 30 whites; mean supine blood pressure 172/101 mm Hg; mean age 49.3 +/- 1.5 years) and 61 normotensive subjects (37 men; 47 whites; mean supine blood pressure 128/78 mm Hg; mean age 42.8 +/- 1.6 years). Plasma and platelet 5 HT were assayed by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. No significant difference was found in platelet-poor plasma or platelet 5 HT levels in hypertensive or normotensive subjects (plasma: 43.0 +/- 4.2 and 39.6 +/- 4.4 nmol/L; platelet: 1.65 +/- 1.22 and 1.70 +/- 1.39 nmol/10(9) cells in hypertensive and normotensive subjects, respectively). No significant correlation was found between plasma or platelet 5 HT and systolic or diastolic blood pressure (plasma: r = 0.01 and 0.01 in normotensive subjects and r = 0.01 and -0.14 in hypertensive subjects; platelet: r = 0.12 and 0.13 in normotensive subjects and r = 0.02 and -0.09 in hypertensive subjects). However, plasma 5 HT was associated with supine and standing pulse rates (supine: r = 0.27, p = 0.05 in normotensive subjects and r = 0.54, p < 0.001 in hypertensive subjects; standing: r = 0.19 and r = 0.46, p < 0.001, respectively). Significant relations were also found between platelet 5 HT levels and supine and standing heart rate in the subjects mentioned above (supine: r = 0.28, p = 0.05 in normotensive subjects and r = 0.64, p < 0.001 in hypertensive subjects; standing: r = 0.24 and r = 0.51, p < 0.001, respectively). These associations were stronger in the hypertensive group as a whole, and they held when adjustment was made for differences in age and total blood cholesterol. The present study showed that plasma and platelet 5 HT are not significantly altered in hypertensive subjects. However, plasma and platelet 5 HT levels showed a significant association with supine and standing pulse rate predominantly in hypertensive subjects. This is consistent with experimental evidence of a positive chronotropic effect of 5 HT on perfused hearts and it suggests a possible role of plasma serotonin in the regulation of heart rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, UK.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Missouris
authors.forename: F P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Cappuccio
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Varsamis
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Barron
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Markandu
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: MacGregor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012701:Serotonin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D002784:Cholesterol