Motivation
A close association exists between hypertension and arterial stiffness. Whether the increased arterial stiffness seen in hypertensives are due to structural or functional adaptations in the vasculature is uncertain. Hypertension is more common in blacks and they have an increased arterial stiffness and higer stroke prevalence than white populations. Arterial stiffening, or a loss of arterial distensibility, increases the risk for cardiovascular events, including stroke and heart failure, as it increases the afterload on the heart, as well as creating a higher pulsatile load on the microcirculation. The stiffness of the carotid artery is associated with cardiovascular events, like stroke, and all-cause mortality. Furthermore, carotid stiffness is independently associated with stroke, probably because stiffening of the carotid artery may lead to a higher pressure load on the brain. Inflammation, endothelial activation, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia and health behaviours may also influence hypertension and arterial stiffness. Limited information is availiable on these associations in black South Africans. The high prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in blacks creates the need for effective prevention and intervention programs in South Africa.
Aim
We aimed to compare the characteristics of the carotid artery between 5-year sustained hypertensive and normotensive black participants. Furthermore, we aimed to determine whether blood pressure, conventional cardio-metabolic risk factors, markers of inflammation, endothelial activation and measures of health behaviours are related to these carotid characteristics.
Methodology
This sub-study forms part of the South African leg of the multi-national Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The participants of the PURE-SA study were from the North West Province of South Africa, and baseline data collection took place in 2005 (N=2010), while follow-up data was collected five years later, in 2010 (N=1288). HIV-free participants who were either hypertensive or normotensive (N=592) for the 5-year period, and who had complete datasets, were included in this sub-study. The study population thus consists of a group of 5-year sustained normotensive (n=241) and hypertensive (n=351) black participants.
Anthropometric measurements included height, weight, waist circumference and the calculation of body mass index (BMI). We included several cardiovascular measurements, namely brachial systolic- and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, central systolic blood pressure, central pulse pressure and the carotid dorsalis-pedis pulse wave velocity. Carotid characteristics included distensibility, intima media thickness, cross sectional wall area, maximum and minimum lumen diameter. Biochemical
variables that were determined included HIV status, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), creatinine clearance, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, intracellular adhesion-molecule-1 and vascular adhesion molecule-1. Health behaviours were quantified by measuring γ-glutamyltransferase and by self-reported alcohol, tobacco and anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory and lipid-lowering medication use.
We compared the normotensive and hypertensive groups by using independent t-tests and chi-square tests. The carotid characteristics were plotted according to quartiles of central systolic blood pressure by making use of standard analyses of variance (ANOVA) and the analyses of co-variance (ANCOVA). Pearson correlations done in the normotensive and hypertensive Africans helped to determine covariates for the multiple regression models. We used forward stepwise multiple regression analyses with the carotid characteristics as dependent variables to determine independent associations between variables.
Results and Conclusion
The cardiovascular measures, including pulse wave velocity, were significantly higher in the hypertensive group (all p≤0.024). The lipid profile, markers of inflammation, endothelial activation and glycaemia, as well as health behaviours, did not differ between the hypertensives and normotensives after adjustments for age, sex, waist circumference, γ-glutamyltransferase, tobacco use and anti-hypertensive medication use. After similar adjustments, all carotid characteristics, except IMT, were significantly different between the groups (all p≤0.008). However, upon additional adjustment for cSBP, significance was lost.
The stiffness and functional adaptation seen in this study are not explained by the classic cardio-metabolic risk factors, markers of endothelial activation or health behaviours of the participants. The differences that exist in terms of arterial stiffness between the normotensive and hypertensive groups may be explained by the increased distending pressure in the hypertensive group. Despite their hypertensive status, it seems that there are no structural adaptations in these hypertensive Africans. / MSc (Physiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/15399 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Maritz, Melissa |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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