European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

COMPARATIVE CHANGES IN HEMORHEOLOGIC PROPERTIES OF HYPERTENSIVE AND NORMOTENSIVE ADULTS

Ofulue Ofioritse Ogheneyoma, *Ohwin Peggy Ejiro and Chukwuemeka Ogugua Azubike

ABSTRACT

In Scientific term, hemo-rheology describes the rate of material flow and movement through the blood and vascular system. It is a feature of the circulatory system that reportedly varies across humans, and may be dependent on disease states, such as hypertension. Current study was therefore devised to compare and contrast selected hemo-rheological variables in hypertensive and normotensive adult humans. One hundred and forty (140) humans, comprising of seventy (70) hypertensive and normotensive subjects each were ethically recruited from the University of Benin staff and students community. Haven established their health status via questionnaire and history taking, subjects were then grouped into two based on their blood pressures (BP); Group 1 [Normotensives, BP < 120mmHg/80mmHg] and Group II [Hypertensives, BP > 140mmHg/90mmHg]. After obtaining their anthropometric parameters (weight, height and BMI), blood samples were then obtained from subjects and assayed for selected hemo-rheologic parameters [pH, Whole Blood Viscosity (WV), Plasma Viscosity (PV), Plasma Fibrinogen Concentration (PFC), Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and Euglobinlysis time (ELT)]. Upon statistical comparison (using the student t-test), study found a significant increase in all but WV, pH, PV and PCV. These variables however proved significant across gender line, returning a statistically significant increase (p < 0.05) in hypertensive males than females. Hemo-rheological changes can therefore be associated with hypertensive state.

Keywords: hemo-rheology, Hypertensives, Normotensives.