Hypertension, nitric oxide and end-organ damage

Hypertension is a common disorder. The morbidity and mortality attributed t o hypertension are not uniform across patient populations, In certain indiv iduals hypertension is accompanied by adaptive changes that involve the kid ney, heart and blood vessels. Nitric oxide is a ubiquitous molecule that is upregulated by endothelial cells in response to shear stress and cyclic st rain associated with hypertension. Experimental studies in animals have sug gested that vascular upregulation of nitric oxide is an adaptive mechanism to increased blood pressure that may help in the prevention of end-organ da mage. If these studies are applicable to humans, differences in cardiovascu lar morbidity and mortality from hypertension may result, at least in part, from the variation in endothelial function in response to hypertension, Cu rr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 8:237-241. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins .