Wen Yang
Second Department of Geriatrics, Navy General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Exp Clin Cardiol. 2010 Fall;15(3):37-40.
A high red blood cell distribution width (RDW) may be associated with adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure and risk of death, and cardiovascular events in people with previous myocardial infarction. Ultrasound detection of carotid plaque helps to identify asymptomatic patients with advanced subclinical atherosclerosis, which can predict risk of cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction. However, the relationship of RDW and carotid artery atherosclerosis in hypertensive people is less certain.
To evaluate the association between RDW and carotid artery atherosclerosis in people with hypertension.
RDW was determined using a Coulter counter together with white blood cell count in 156 hypertensive inpatients 60 to 85 years of age. Carotid intimal-medial thickness (IMT) and carotid atherosclerotic plaques were identified by ultrasound imaging. Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels were determined using a multichannel analyzer. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured manually.
The number of patients with carotid artery atherosclerotic plaque, as well as the carotid IMT to inner diameter ratio, were significantly different among the different RDW groups of hypertensive inpatients (P<0.01). With linear regression analysis, increased carotid IMT and higher white blood cell count were identified to be significant and independent contributors to the RDW of hypertensive inpatients (P<0.05).
A close relationship between high RDW and IMT, and the incidence of carotid plaque, was identified in 156 hypertensive inpatients.
较高的红细胞分布宽度（RDW）可能与心力衰竭患者的不良预后、死亡风险以及既往心肌梗死患者的心血管事件相关。超声检测颈动脉斑块有助于识别无症状的晚期亚临床动脉粥样硬化患者，这可以预测心血管死亡或心肌梗死风险。然而，高血压患者中RDW与颈动脉粥样硬化的关系尚不确定。
评估高血压患者中RDW与颈动脉粥样硬化之间的关联。
采用库尔特计数器测定156例60至85岁高血压住院患者的RDW及白细胞计数。通过超声成像确定颈动脉内膜中层厚度（IMT）和颈动脉粥样硬化斑块。使用多通道分析仪测定总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇和甘油三酯水平。手动测量收缩压和舒张压。
高血压住院患者不同RDW组间颈动脉粥样硬化斑块患者数量以及颈动脉IMT与内径比值存在显著差异（P<0.01）。通过线性回归分析，发现颈动脉IMT增加和白细胞计数升高是高血压住院患者RDW的显著且独立影响因素（P<0.05）。
在156例高血压住院患者中，发现高RDW与IMT以及颈动脉斑块发生率之间存在密切关系。
