Will we change our view of the causes of the arterial hypertension development?

Abstract

Arterial hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. It is reported that it affects a third of the adult population and that in 2025 it will become the most common chronic disease. Hypertension does not have attacks and remissions; and if it occurs, it usually does not disappear and requires long-term lifelong treatment. Despite extensive and numerous studies of risk factors, we do not know the cause of hypertension. There are thousands of studies focused on various risk factors for the development of arterial hypertension. None of them apply in general and do not clarify the reasons for the development and progression of the disease. Recent experimental data strongly support a role for complement in all stages of arterial hypertension. Evidence that in a significant proportion of patients with so-called malignant hypertension, thrombotic microangiopathy is a manifestation of atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome; conclusively shows that the disease is part of complement dysregulation. These facts shift our view of the role of complement, which is much more important in many diseases, including hypertension, than we previously thought.