LAUSR

Objectives: Studies have shown that lactate, an indicator of insufficient oxidative capacity/ mitochondrial dysfunction, might be responsible for the development of hypertension. Pulse pressure (PP), which is a surrogate of arterial stiffness, is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, no study has determined the association of plasma lactate and high PP. We hypothesized that plasma lactate would be independently associated with high PP in hypertensive Nigerians. Methods: We compared the anthropometrical, haematological and biochemical indices between hypertensive patients with low PP (PP < 55 mmHg; n = 15) and hypertensive patients with high PP (PP ≥ 55 mmHg, n = 20). Results: Our results showed that hypertensive patients with high PP had significantly higher systolic blood pressure, soluble dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (sDPP-4), lower diastolic blood pressure when compared with hypertensive patients with low PP. Using multivariate regression analysis, results showed that plasma lactate (R2 = 0.254; p < 0.006) was an independent determinant of high PP in hypertensive patients. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis also showed that plasma lactate was the most efficient predictor of high PP than other indices. The area under the ROC curve for lactate (0.790) was larger than that of sDPP-4 (0.721), PLYM (0.697), TyG (0.687) and NC (0.374). Conclusion: These findings suggest that plasma lactate is a salient risk factor that would promote the development of arterial stiffness and cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive Nigerians.