Abstract:

Objective    To investigate the differences of plasma Apelin level between essential hypertensive patients and hypertensive patients with heart failure (HF). Methods    120 essential hypertensive patients were enrolled and divided into two groups according to the existence of heart failure(HF): the  hypertension with HF group (n=79) and hypertension group (n=41). Levels of plasma Apelin and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were determined by a sandwich ELISA. Left ventricular (LV),  Left ventricular ejection fraction（LVEF）and left ventricular posterior wall(LVPW)  were measured by Philips 5700 ultrasonic apparatus. Results    Apelin level in the  hypertension with HF group was lower than that of the hypertension group（P＜0.05）. Binary logistic regression showed that age, BNP, LV, LVEF and Apelin were significantly associated with the development of HF in hypertensive patients (P<0.05).Plasma Apelin level of hypertensive patients was higher in the early stage of heart failure than that in the later stage (P＜0.05）.The plasma Apelin level gradually reduced  in contrast to  the increase of blood pressure in the  hypertension group（P＜0.05）. Conclusion    Plasma Apelin level has a significant relationship with the occurrence and development of hypertension with heart failure, which may serve as an index for risk stratification and clinical outcomes.

Key words: Essential hypertension; Heart failure; Apelin