PLASMA TRIGLYCERIDES AND 24-HOUR URINARY SODIUM-EXCRETION IN ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVES - A PATHOGENETIC CONNECTION

Hypertension among the elderly generally represents a salt-sensitive s tate. However this salt-sensitivity does not appear to result from age -related increase in either sodium or salt intake. Since 20 years new trends seem to relate the role of sodium in the genesis of hypertensio n to a primary abnormality of electrolyte transport of cell membrane. Lipid abnormalities have also been described in untreated patients wit h high blood pressure. Plasma triglycerides were considerably higher ( p < 0.01) in the hypertensives than in the controls. 24 hour sodium ex cretion was significantly lower (p < 0.0001) in hypertensives than in the controls. We have found a strong correlation among reduced sodium excretion, higher triglycerides and elevated blood pressure in the eld erly. The blood pressure correlated negatively with 24 hour sodium exc retion (p < 0.0001 for systolic and p < 0.002 for diastolic) and posit ively with plasma triglycerides (p < 0.0001) for systolic and p (0.001 for diastolic). The poor literature regarding an association of these two alterations in human hypertensives makes our results provocative. We speculated that these alterations may be a facet of the insulin re sitance commonly detectable in human hypertensives. However, further i nvestigations are required to answer to this intriguing hypothesis.