title: Relationship between increased systemic inflammation and impaired aortic elasticity in young patients with prehypertension.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, School of Medicine, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey. benturgay@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Turgay
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.forename: Uygar Cagdas
authors.initials: UC
authors.lastname: Yuksel
authors.forename: Sait
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demirkol
authors.forename: Baris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bugan
authors.forename: Atila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iyisoy
authors.forename: Hasan Kutsi
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kabul
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kilic
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fici
authors.forename: Halil
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yaman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001011:Aorta / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000276:immunology*; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D058246:Prehypertension / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein