Relationships of different blood pressure categories to indices of inflammation and platelet activity in sustained hypertensive patients with uncontrolled office blood pressure.

Failure to decrease blood pressure (BP) normally during nighttime (non-dipping) in hypertension is associated with higher cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In addition, non-dipping BP is associated with increased platelet activity and inflammatory response; however, there has been no study to evaluate the relationship of non-dipping BP to indices of platelet activity and inflammation in uncontrolled hypertensive patients. In the present study, hypertensive subjects with uncontrolled office BP were firstly divided into three groups: 84 subjects with white coat effect and 365 subjects with true uncontrolled hypertension. Then, true uncontrolled hypertensive patients were divided into two groups: 158 patients with dipping and 207 patients with non-dipping. Mean platelet volume (MPV), uric acid (UA), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) levels were studied. The general characteristics and risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) of the study population were similar among the groups. MPV, UA, GGT, CRP, and hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in non-dipper group than both dipper and white coat effect groups, and were significantly higher in dipper group than in white coat effect group (MPV: 9.1 ± 1.3, 8.7 ± 1.1, and 8. ± 0.9 fL; UA: 6.9 ± 1.2, 5.9 ± 1.4, and 4.1 ± 0.8 mg/dL; GGT: 38.9 ± 11.1, 33.6 ± 14.9, and 25.2 ± 9.2 U/L; CRP: 7.1 ± 2.4, 6.2 ± 1.9, and 3.9 ± 0.8 mg/dL; hs-CRP: 3.8 ± 1.5, 3.3 ± 1.2, and 2.0 ± 0.6, non-dipper, dipper, and white coat effect groups, respectively, all p values <0.01). All study parameters strongly correlated with each other. In conclusion, in hypertensive patients with uncontrolled office BP, presence of non-dipping BP is associated with increased platelet activity and inflammation, which can be one of the underlying plausible mechanisms of non-dipping BP status.