A comparative study of hematological parameters between patients with essential hypertension without cardiovascular comorbidity and in combination with coronary artery disease and chronic heart failure

<b>Objective.</b> Metabolic disorders such as essential hypertension (EH) have increasingly contributed to the global health burden. The aim of this study was to assess differences in the hematological parameters among hypertensive adults with and without cardiovascular comorbidity and to explore the association between the complete blood count (CBC) indices and the effectiveness of hypertension control, defined by achieving target blood pressure levels (TBPLs) of <140/90 mmHg. <b>Methods.</b> The study involved 140 outpatients with EH of municipal non-profit enterprise "Hulsk outpatient clinic of general practice of family medicine" of the Stryiv village council (Hylsk village, Zviahel district, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine), which were divided into 3 groups: 1) hypertensive patients without cardiovascular comorbidity (with EH only), 2) hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), and 3) hypertensive patients with CAD and chronic heart failure (CHF). The CBC was examined using an automatic hematological analyzer BC-6000 ("Mindray", China). <b>Results.</b> When comparing the CBC indices in patients with EH versus normotensive individuals, statistically significant differences were found in total white blood cells (WBC) count, relative neutrophil, eosinophil, lymphocyte, monocyte counts, mean platelet volume (MPV), and platelet distribution width (PDW). Moreover, relative lymphocyte count (RLC) was lower by 7.05% (p=0.003) in the EH+CAD+CHF group compared to patients with EH only; relative monocyte count (RMC) was higher by 26.09% (p=0.004) and 23.91% (р=0.010) in the EH+CAD+CHF and the EH+CAD groups, respectively, compared to patients with EH only. MPV and PDW were higher by 12.77 % (p=0.022) and 5.66 % (p=0.021) in the EH+CAD group, respectively, compared to patients with EH only. In addition, significant differences were found in the RMC, which was higher in individuals who achieved TBPLs compared to individuals who did not achieve TBPLs (by 25.00% in the EH group, by 26.53% in the EH+CAD group and by 20.00% in the EH+CAD+CHF group). <b>Conclusions.</b> We demonstrated that in patients with EH+CAD relative monocyte count and MPV and PDW were significantly higher vs. patients with EH only; in patients with EH+CAD+CHF relative lymphocyte count was significantly lower and relative monocyte count was significantly higher vs. patients with EH only. Furthermore, both in hypertensive patients with cardiovascular comorbidity and patients without cardiovascular comorbidity, relative monocyte counts in individuals who achieved TBPLs was significantly higher than in individuals who did not achieve TBPLs. Improved understanding of the cellular mechanisms connecting monocyte count to blood pressure regulation could enhance our insight into the pathogenesis of EH and contribute to the development of more effective strategies for the prevention of hypertension incidents.