Affiliations: [a]
Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| [b]
Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Krakow, Poland
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Maria Fornal, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, ul. Jakubowskiego 2, 30-688 Kraków, Poland. Tel.: +48 124002900; Fax: +48 124002917; E-mail: maria.1.fornal@uj.edu.pl.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE:The study aims at assessing the relationship between blood pressure, heart geometry parameters, and the erythrocyte content of sulfur, potassium, chlorine and phosphorus, in a group of patients with ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) below 140 or 90 mm Hg, respectively, who were otherwise healthy and untreated. METHODS:The study group consisted of 42 adults recruited in a primary care setting. The individuals were healthy, not undergoing any therapy and free from smoking. For each individual, data were obtained on: average 24-hour SBP and DBP, left ventricle geometry, complete blood count, lipids profile, fibrinogen, hs-CRP and the erythrocyte concentration of sulfur (S), potassium (K), chlorine (Cl) and phosphorus (P). RESULTS:Multivariate regression analysis showed statistically significant relationships of diastolic posterior wall thickness (PWTd) and relative wall thickness (RWT) with the concentration ratio of sulfur and potassium (S/K) in erythrocytes: PWTd and RWT increase as the S/K ratio increases. Also, SBP was found to be positively correlated with the S/K ratio. CONCLUSIONS:The increase in sulfur content in RBCs could be an indicator of the downregulation of nitric oxide (NO) erythrocyte bioavailability exerted by endogenously produced hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and, in consequence, a marker of the development of hypertension and/or adverse changes in heart geometry.
Keywords: Blood pressure measurement/monitoring, heart geometry, elemental sulfur content of erythrocytes, microelement concentration in erythrocytes
