A hipertensão arterial refrataria : caracterização fenotipica, avalliação cardiovascular morfo-funcional e correlação com polimorfismos geneticos de sistema renina-angiotensina e da sintase endotelial do oxido nitrico / Refractory hypertension : phenotypic characterization, cardiovascular morpho-functional assesssment and correlation with the renin-angiotensin-aldosterene and endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphisms

Juan Carlos Yugar Toledo

Refractory hypertension (HAR) is defined, according to the Seventh Joint National Committee (JNC VII), when the systolic arterial pressure remains above 140 mmHg and the diastolic arterial pressure above 90 mmHg even when taking three or more classes of anti-hypertensive agents including full-dose of a diuretic and the other agents at sub maximum doses with good compliance to both non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments. The pathophysiology of arterial hypertension, including refractory hypertension, is complex; it is modulated by several interlinked factors including the autonomic nervous system, vascular smooth muscles (endothelium-nitric oxide) and kidneys, as well as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). Thus the pathophysiology of arterial hypertension is considered polygenic and heterogeneous with significant involvement of the environment (multifactorial). Among the many changes suffered by the organism to cope with the chronic pressure overload are left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and vascular remodeling. The results of the Framingham Heart Study unequivocally demonstrated the prognostic value of detecting left ventricular hypertrophy in the stratification of risk for cardiovascular disease, morbidity and mortality. Assessment of the intimae-media measurement of the anterior and posterior walls of the carotid artery utilizing high-resolution ultrasound is being used for the early detection of vascular remodeling and as an early marker of atherosclerosis. The endothelium production of NO is the greatest contributor to vascular smooth muscle relaxation. Inability to release NO or endothelial dysfunction can be non-evasively evaluated by measuring the brachial arterial response to mechanical stimuli such as the response to a compression/decompression maneuver or after pharmacological stimulus using vasodilator agents, including nitroglycerine which acts directly on the vascular smooth muscle. An approach using genetics allows the investigation of the participation of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) which code to components of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system which include the I/D polymorphism of the angiotensin-conversion enzyme gene (ACE), the M235T angiotensinogen gene polymorphism (AGT) and the Glu-Asp endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphism (eNOS) in patients with refractory hypertension. A total of 220 individuals were studied including 70 patients with refractory hypertension (HAR), 80 responsive to pharmacological treatment (HT) and 70 control subjects (CT). The objectives of this study were: 1) to characterize and comparatively analyze the clinical, demographic, anthropometric and biochemical profile of the HAR, HT and CT individuals; 2) to evaluate the left ventricle mass (LVH), the intimae-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries and measure the vascular reactivity aiming at identifying morphological and cardiovascular functional alterations; 3) analyze the SNP genetic markers of the AGT, ACE and eNOS genes aiming at elucidating the basic control mechanisms of arterial pressure including identifying the individual predisposition to HAR; 4) to evaluate the association of the AGT, ECA and eNOS polymorphisms with the morphological and cardiovascular functional changes. The main results of the current study showed: a) similar prevalence in non-Caucasian and Caucasian individuals, increases in the body mass index, elevations in the serum aldosterone concentrations, the plasma renin activity and of the sodium urine excretion in patients with HAR; b) the presence of morphological changes characterized by LVH, an increase of the IMT of the carotid arteries (cardiovascular remodeling) and functional changes such as endothelial dependent and independent vasodilation; c) a higher prevalence of the TT genotype of the M235T ATG gene polymorphism and of the Glu-Glu genotype of the eNOS gene in patients with HAR. In conclusion HAR has an ethnically equivalent distribution and presents associated factors such as: an increase in the body mass index and hyperactivity of the RAAS; intermediary phenotypes characterized by cardiovascular remodeling (LVH and an increase of the IMT of the carotid arteries) and functional alterations represented by endothelial-dependant and independent vascular dysfunction, are involved in the phenotypic expression. The TT genotype of the AGT gene polymorphism and the Glu-Glu of eNOS gene have a higher prevalence in patients with HAR, however only the TT genotype of the AGT gene polymorphism is associated with both structural and functional cardiovascular alterations. The Glu-Glu and Glu-Asp genotypes have correlations with functional alterations alone

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