Inflammation and Arterial Hypertension: From Pathophysiological Links to Risk Prediction

Title:Inflammation and Arterial Hypertension: From Pathophysiological Links to Risk Prediction

Volume: 22 Issue: 23

Author(s): Panagiota Pietri, Charalambos Vlachopoulos and Dimitris Tousoulis

Affiliation:

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory agents, arterial hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, low-grade inflammation, subclinical organ damage.

Abstract: Over the last years, ample data have demonstrated the pivotal role of low-grade inflammation in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. It is well established that inflammatory activation, serving either as a substrate, in the chronic phase of atherosclerotic disease, or as a trigger, in the acute phase, increases cardiovascular events. Considering hypertension, the inflammatory process is implicated in its pathophysiology through a bidirectional relationship since arterial hypertension may enhance inflammation and vice versa. Inflammatory biomarkers such as highsensitivity C-reactive protein, have shown predictive value for both the incidence of hypertension and the clinical outcomes in hypertensive patients. In the present review, data on the association between arterial hypertension and low-grade inflammation will be reported and potential pathophysiological pathways and clinical implications underlying this association will be discussed.

Cite this article as:

Pietri Panagiota, Vlachopoulos Charalambos and Tousoulis Dimitris, Inflammation and Arterial Hypertension: From Pathophysiological Links to Risk Prediction, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2015; 22 (23) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929867322666150420104727