The relationship between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and artery stiffness in subtypes of hypertension

Recently, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been proved to be a useful indicator of inflammation and cardiovascular risk. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity is an indicator for early atherosclerotic changes. It is unknown whether NLR differs in subtypes of hypertension, and little research has been performed on the relationship between NLR and arteriosclerosis in subtypes of hypertension. The purpose of this article was to investigate their relationship. A total of 217 consecutive patients with hypertension and 132 persons without hypertension were included. All hypertension patients were divided into three groups according to office blood pressure. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity was elevated in patients with isolated systolic hypertension, isolated diastolic hypertension, and systolic and diastolic hypertension compared with normotensive controls. NLR in patients with isolated systolic hypertension and systolic and diastolic hypertension were higher than in normotensive controls. Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between NLR and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that NLR was an effective indicator for brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity.