Background: Although systemic hypertension is rarely seen in steady state\nsickle cell disease (SCD), relative hypertension has been reported to be associated\nwith an increased risk of cardiovascular and renal complications. Objective:\nTo determine the prevalence of BP patterns and assess factors associated\nwith relative hypertension in sickle cell anemia (SCA) adult patients.\nMethods: Clinical data and office BP were obtained from 103 consecutive\nsteady-state SCA adult patients (mean age 26 �± 7.9 years, 66% females, 22.3%\non hydroxyurea) attending four healthcare centers providing SCD-specific\ncare in Kinshasa. Seated BP was measured using an automated electronic device.\nThree consecutive blood pressure measurements were taken with 2 minutes\ninterval between readings and the average of the 2 last readings was\nconsidered for the analyses. Normal BP, relative hypertension and systemic\nhypertension were defined as BP < 120/70 mmHg, 120 - 139/70 - 89 mmHg\nand â�¥140/90 mmHg, respectively. Results: Normal BP, relative hypertension\nand systemic hypertension were observed in 56 (54%), 43 (42%) and 4 (4%) of\nSCA patients, respectively. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with\nrelative hypertension were leg ulcer (aOR 2.05; 95%CI 1.77 - 5.18; p = 0.016),\ncentral obesity (aOR 3.32; 95%CI 1.28 - 6.24; p = 0.001), smoking (aOR 5.02;\n95%CI 1.51 - 9.50; p = 0.017), and microalbumiuria (aOR 3.44; 95%CI 1.44 -\n5.76; p = 0.035). Conclusion: Relative hypertension was a common finding in the present case series and associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factor\nas well as factors specific to SCD highlighting the need for measures to\nprevent its progression towards systemic hypertension and associated cardiovascular\nand renal disease.
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