Prothrombin time and relative plasma viscosity of hypertensive patients attending University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

A study of the prothrombin time and relative plasma viscosity of hypertensive patients attending University of Calabar Teaching Hospital was conducted. Three hundred (300) male and female subjects aged 25 - 65 years were enrolled for the study. Two hundred (200) subjects were
hypertensive, while 100 apparently healthy normotensives served as control. Blood pressure (BP) of hypertensive patients was obtained from their medical records, while that of control subjects was measured using sphygmomanometer. Prothrombin time (PT) was measured on citrated plasma by Quick one-stage method, while relative plasma viscosity (RPV) was assessed using syringe viscometer. BP, PT and RPV were significantly increased (p<0.05) in hypertensives, when compared to control subjects. Furthermore, PT was observed to be significantly increased (p<0.05)
among hypertensives having other complications namely cerebro-vascular accident and or diabetes over those without complications. It is concluded that hypertension interferes with the coagulation and rheology of blood.

Keywords: Prothrombin time, plasma viscosity, rheology, hypertension