Comparisons of microvascular and
macrovascular changes in aldosteronism-related hypertension and essential
hypertension
Monica Varano, Pierluigi Iacono, Massimiliano M. Tedeschi, Claudio Letizia,
Mario Curione, Claudio Savoriti, Erika Baiocco, Laura Zinnamosca,
Cristiano Marinelli, Barbara Boccassini Mariacristina Parravano
Abstract
Case-control observational study to
evaluate the microvascular and macrovascular changes in patients with
hypertension secondary to primary aldosteronism (PA), essential hypertension
(EH) and healthy subjects. Measurements of arterial stiffness including
augmentation index (AIx) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were assessed using a
TensioClinic arteriograph system. Retinal microcirculation was imaged by a
Retinal Vessel Analyzer (RVA) and a non-midriatic camera (Topcon-TRC-NV2000).
IMEDOS software analyzed the retinal artery diameter (RAD), retinal vein
diameters (RVD) and arteriole-to-venule ratio (AVR) of the vessels coming off
the optic disc. Thirty, 39 and 35 patients were included in the PA, EH and
control group, respectively. The PA group showed higher PWV values compared
only with the control group. The mean brachial and aortic AIx values did not
show significant difference between groups. In the PA group, the mean RVD and
AVR values were significantly lower than in the EH and control groups, whereas
the parameters did not differ between the EH and control groups. In conclusion,
AVR appears significantly modified in the PA group compared with the EH group
and could represent an early and more reliable indicator of microvascular
remodeling.
