[Hereditary Salt Sensitivity As a Cause of Essential Hypertension: Studies of Membrane Transport and Intracellular Electrolytes]

Based on oscillatory long-term blood pressure recordings and on biochemical findings in 62 normotensive and 54 untreated hypertensive subjects, who were investigated during their usual high sodium diet and after moderate salt restriction, we have developed a concept for the pathogenesis of essential hypertension, which differs from current concept proposed by others: We demonstrated that normotensive subjects with a positive family history of hypertension respond to sodium restriction from 200 to 50 mmol/day over 2 weeks with a minute fall of mean blood pressure of 2.9 +/- 0.7 mmHg (+/- SEM), whereas in subjects with a negative family history of hypertension blood pressure remained unchanged (-0.93 +/- 0.67 mmHg). This difference was only revealed by computing the "basal blood pressure average" from 240 heart beats, but not by conventional sphygmomanometric blood pressure measurements. Normotensives with heredity of hypertension or "salt sensitive" normotensive subjects were not different from subjects with a negative family history in the sodium pump, Na-K-cotransport or intracellular sodium and potassium of erythrocytes. In contrast, the former group had an increased sensitivity to infused noradrenaline, which might be responsible for enhanced tubular sodium reabsorption in subjects with a positive family history of hypertension (or "salt sensitive" subjects). We only found an increased K-permeability of red cells in established hypertension, which was compensated for by a an increased activity of the sodium pump. These cell membrane defects were more pronounced in more severe hypertension. In the course of essential hypertension a cell membrane defect may develop as a consequence rather than a cause of the disease.