Red cell deformability and blood oxygen transport in human hypertension

Abstract

Twenty one ambulatory patients with essential hypertension (10 men, 11 women), 50.6±6.3 years old, had blood pressures of 167.5±17.1 mmHg for systolic and l06.2±9.9 mmHg for diastolic. Most of them were under treatment and target organ involvement was not important. Several parameters were calculated from a sample of venous blood: haemoglobin, haematocrit, P50 standard, carboxyhaemoglobin, red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and erythrocyte filterability rate. As significant different from a group of control, it has been found a higher P50 standard (hypertensives 29.07±1.82 mmHg. vs. controls 27.74±0.86 mmHg, p < 0.05) and a lower filterablity rate (11.41±1.31 μl.sec^−l for hypertensives 15.80±0.83 μl.sec^−l for controls, p < 0.001). The results suggest an augmentation of the rigidity of red blood cells that may have consequences on microcircultion and delivery of oxygen to tissues. The increase in P50 standard eventually connected with the increase in 2,3-DPG (hypertensives 18.56±3.32 μmoles/gHb; controls 12.01±1.32 μmoles/gHb, p < 0.001), could be a way of compensation.