Alteration of cellular calcium metabolism as primary cause of hypertension.

In the pathogenesis of hypertension, the importance of intracellular calcium is increasing. Clinical and experimental studies of essential hypertension indicate a pathological increase of intracellular Ca2+ in this disease. In the past, changes in cellular Na+ and its transport mechanisms were considered the triggering factors and Na+-Ca2+ exchange was attributed a decisive influence on intracellular homeostasis. Recently, a reduced Ca2+-binding capacity of the cellular membrane was observed in hypertension, which could have been due to a defect of the Ca2+-ATPase or its control. It is therefore necessary to establish the hypothesis that changes in the cellular Ca2+ metabolism associated with an increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration may be the primary cause of hypertension. Disorders of Na+ transport can also be traced to the increase in intracellular Ca2+ and were thus a consequence but not the cause of the increased intracellular Ca2+ concentration.