Plasma renin activity in Egyptian hypertensive patients

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Hypertension is one of the most prevalent disease states that occur in approximately one in three adults. Hypertension is a major cause of morbidity and mortality because of its association with coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and renal disease. Plasma renin activity (PRA) is a surrogate of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activity and potentially serves as a biomarker for hypertension. The relationship between plasma renin activity (PRA) and hypertension still unclear moreover, no previous studies has been assessed their relationship on Egyptian hypertensive patients. Thereby, the purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between plasma renin activity (PRA) levels and the occurrence of hypertension in Egyptian patients. Methods: Plasma renin activity (PRA) was measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique in 30 patients (16 males and 14 females), ranging in age from 17 to 63 years. Results: In systolic blood pressure (SBP) group, patients with high systolic blood pressure (stage 2) and hypertensive crises tended to have high plasma renin activity (PRA) levels than those normal individuals. Also, patients with high diastolic blood pressure greater (stage 2) had higher levels of plasma renin than patients with normal blood pressure. Conclusion: Based on the results, a strong and direct relationship between plasma renin activity (PRA) and hypertension was observed.