Prevalence of Essential Hypertension in Patients Infected with Hepatitis C Virus

Abstract

HCV infection increases the risk of many cardiovascular diseases as carotid atherosclerosis, coronary atherosclerosis and cardiomyopathy as a part of HCV extrahepatic manifestations. The study showed that the prevalence of extrahepatic manifestations among patients with HCV infection was 29.8%. This study revealed that 38.8% of patients with HCV infection had essential hypertension, while the prevalence of essential hypertension was 21.8% in the non-infected group. This study revealed also that there is an increased prevalence of D.M among patient with HCV infection to reach 9.8%, while it was 5.8% in the non-infected group. The exact role of HCV in developing essential HTN is not completely clear, but it may occur through immunological and inflammatory mechanisms that lead to deposition of cryoglobulins in the blood vessels as a part of mixed cryoglobulinemia leading to atherosclerosis.