Basal platelet intracellular free calcium concentrations in untreated hypertensive patients and normotensive controls.

Basal platelet intracellular free calcium concentrations were measured in 18 untreated essential hypertensive patients and 18 age and sex matched normotensive controls. No significant difference was observed between the mean platelet intracellular free calcium concentrations for these two groups. There was a weak, but significant positive correlation between both systolic and diastolic BP and basal platelet intracellular free calcium concentration. These results suggest there is a real, but quantitatively small relationship between platelet intracellular free calcium levels and BP in essential hypertension which may be of pathophysiological significance in the genesis and maintenance of hypertension.