Background:
Serum uric acid (sUA) levels have been found to be positively associated with increased risk of hypertension (HTN), independent of other cardiovascular risk factors. The role of sUA elevation in patients with resistant hypertension (RHTN) is unknown. We hypothesized that sUA levels are higher in RHTN patients compared to patients with controlled HTN.
Methods:
This retrospective study included, 140 patients from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hypertension Clinic. Patient characteristics including body mass index (BMI), office blood pressure (BP) and sUA levels were analyzed. RHTN was defined as office BP > 140/90 mmHg on ≥ 3 or more different antihypertensive agents including a diuretic. Patients with RHTN were compared with a control group with controlled hypertension. Patients with sUA levels <3 mg/dl, who were on treatment with allopurinol, and those with missing values were excluded from the study.
Results:
Patient characteristics of 91 included patients were: 53.4% female, 40.7% African American, mean age 58.8 ± 12.4 years, mean BMI 33.1 ± 7.5 kg/m
2
, mean sUA 6.6 ± 1.9 mg/dL. Mean sUA was higher among RHTN patients compared to the control group (p = 0.0031). Treatment resistance was found to be strongly correlated with sUA levels of ≥ 6 mg/dl (p = 0.0065).
Conclusion:
In this retrospective study, sUA levels were found to be significantly higher among resistant HTN patients compared to controlled HTN patients, indicating that high sUA levels (≥ 6 mg/dl) may play a role in treatment resistance among hypertensive patients.
Resistant Hypertension, Patient Characteristics, and Risk of Stroke
