Hypertension is one of the most prevalent disease states
that occur in approximately one in three adults.
Hypertension is a major cause of morbidity and mortality
because of its association with coronary heart disease,
cerebrovascular disease and renal disease. Plasma renin activity (PRA) is a surrogate
of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activity and potentially serves as a biomarker for
hypertension. The relationship between plasma renin activity (PRA) and hypertension
still unclear moreover, no previous studies has been assessed their relationship on
Egyptian hypertensive patients. Thereby, the purpose of the present study was to
determine the relationship between plasma renin activity (PRA) levels and the
occurrence of hypertension in Egyptian patients. Plasma renin activity (PRA) was
measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique in 30
patients (16 males and 14 females), ranging in age from 17 to 63 years. In systolic
blood pressure (SBP) group, patients with high systolic blood pressure (stage 2) and
hypertensive crises tended to have high plasma renin activity (PRA) levels than those
normal individuals. Also, patients with high diastolic blood pressure greater (stage 2)
had higher levels of plasma renin than patients with normal blood pressure. Based
on the results, a strong and direct relationship between plasma renin activity (PRA)
and hypertension was observed.