Ionic Transport in Hypertension New Perspectives

Ionic Transport in Hypertension is devoted to examining the hypothesis that essential hypertension is a heterogeneous disease in its pathophysiological mechanisms as well as in its clinical and therapeutic considerations. In recent years, there has been convincing evidence that alterations in the intracellular pool of ions, especially Na+ and Ca2+, may play a role in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension. This book considers research regarding abnormalities of transport pathways in cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, smooth muscle cells) from both essential hypertensive patients and spontaneously hypertensive rats. It examines the relationship between abnormalities of Na+ transport function and the physiopathological mechanisms leading to high blood pressure. The important prognostic and therapeutic implications of the existence of separate clinical profiles among essential hypertensives based on abnormalities of the ion cellular metabolism are also discussed. The book will be an important reference for physiologists, membrane biologists, pharmaceutical researchers, and all scientists and clinicians involved in hypertension research.