Increased platelet activation in young patients with prehypertension.

Mean platelet volume (MPV) and sP-selectin levels are considered as indicators of platelet activation. In this study, we assessed platelet activation in prehypertensive patients by comparing MPV and sP-selectin levels of these patients with healthy conrols. The study population consisted of 25 newly diagnosed prehypertensive individuals (18 men, mean age = 34 ± 6 y) and 25 healthy control subjects (16 men, mean age = 33 ± 6 y) eligible for the current study. Blood pressure (BP) , lipid profile, plasma glucose, HOMA-IR values, sP-selectin levels, platelet counts, and MPV were measured in both groups. Other than systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), baseline demographic characteristics of both groups were similar. No significant difference was found between the platelet counts of the two groups. Despite comparable platelet counts, platelet activation parameters were found significantly higher in the prehypertensives. Prehypertensives had larger a MPV value compared to that of the control group (8.24 ± 0.46 fl vs. 7.70 ± 0.64 fl; P = 0.001) and plasma sP-selectin levels were also significantly higher in the prehypertensive patients (163.60 ± 41.21 ng/ml vs. 132.80 ± 36.46; P = 0.007). Spearman correlation analysis revealed moderate positive correlation between SBP and platelet activation parameters (for SBP and MPV, r = 0.60, p = 0.001; for SBP and sP-selectin r = 0.51, p = 0.009). Prehypertension causes platelet activation as evidenced by increased MPV and plasma sP-selectin levels. Increased platelet activation might be related to increased vascular thrombotic risk in those patients.