Failure to Confirm a Prolongation of the Biological Half-life of ²² Na in Hypertensive Patients

Abstract

The biological half-life of 22 Na was measured in 29 patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension and 15 patients with normal blood pressure. All were on a standard regimen with constant diet and known NaCl intake. The biological half-life of 22 Na was found to be similar in those with and without hypertension. This larger series of observations failed to confirm an earlier study from our laboratory in which the biological half-life of 22 Na was reported to be longer in individuals with hypertension. The most likely explanation for the difference is that with the small number of patients studied earlier, there was a fortuitous selection of normotensive subjects with a shorter biological half-life for 22 Na.

Net Influx and Efflux of 22Na in Erythrocytes from Normotensive Offspring of Patients with Essential Hypertension

“…Dahl et al (5) failed to show an abnormal whole body turnover of 22Na+ in patients with established EH during metabolic ward conditions and a fixed daily intake of NaCl (10 g). In a previous study (14) of the whole-body turnover of 22Na+ in normotensive or borderline hypertensive young firstdegree relatives to patients with EH, we observed a prolonged turnover (longer T i or decreased N. C. Henningsen ( i t i d D. Nelson…”