Sphingomyelin levels in nondipper and dipper hypertensive patients

Abstract

A number of studies have focused on the association between sphingomyelin (SM) levels and atherosclerosis, however, there are few data concerning the correlation of SM with nondipper hypertension. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between plasma SM levels and nondipper status in patients with hypertension. A total of 200 hypertensive patients were enrolled and divided into two groups according to their ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (AMBP) results: Dipper group (84 patients) and nondipper group (116 patients). All patients were subjected to transthoracic echocardiography examination and laboratory tests. No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of basic clinical characteristics. However, the plasma SM levels in the dipper group were significantly lower than those of the nondipper group (41.9±17.5 vs. 96.4±14.3 mg/dl, P=0.003). The left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was higher in the nondipper patients than in the dipper patients and the diastolic function parameters in the nondipper patients were less favorable. Correlation analysis showed that the SM level was negatively correlated with the magnitude of systolic blood pressure (SBP) fall at night (r=−0.42, P<0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) fall at night (r=−0.31, P<0.01). The nondipper status had contributory effects on hypertensive concentric hypertrophy and diastolic function impairment. In addition, the plasma SM level was associated with a nondipper pattern of hypertension.

Hypertensive Heart Disease: Mechanisms, Diagnosis and Treatment

“…Here, we summarized a randomized controlled study and meta-analysis on the drug treatment of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) or cardiac remodeling from 2013–2023 (Table 1 , Ref. [ 22 , 181 , 182 , 183 , 184 , 185 , 186 , 187 , 188 , 189 , 190 , 191 , 192 , 193 , 194 , 195 , 196 , 197 , 198 , 199 , 200 , 201 , 202 , 203 , 204 , 205 , 206 , 207 , 208 , 209 , 210 , 211 , 212 , 213 ]). However, even with medical treatment, patients with HHD still face the risk of progressing to heart failure (HFpEF or HFrEF) and SCD, and the use of antihypertensive drugs is ineffective in reducing the risk of sudden death in hypertensive patients (relative risk (RR): 0.96, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.81–1.15) [ 16 , 214 , 215 ].…”

Sphingolipid metabolism and signaling in cardiovascular diseases

“…Moreover, it has been shown that plasma concentrations of S1P were significantly correlated with impaired endothelial function assessed by the Reactive Hyperemia index and a higher aortic systolic pressure ( 34 ). In addition, Zheng et al showed that plasma SM concentrations in patients with hypertension but without a physiological nocturnal reduction of ≥10% of blood pressure (non-dippers) was significantly higher in comparison with the dipper group and plasma SM levels were negatively correlated with the degree of systolic and diastolic blood pressure decrease at night ( 45 ).…”