Abstract 18520: Endogenous Cardiotonic Steroids in Salt- sensitive Hypertension

Introduction: An endogenous inhibitor of Na,K-ATPase (CTS) is increased in Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats and in human cardiovascular pathologies. Hypothesis: Chronic hypertension is a major cause of CTS release which will not be corrected by treatment, and that effectively treated hypertensive patients (HT) will have increased plasma CTS, compared to ischemic stroke patients (STR) after thrombolytic treatment and controls ( CTL). Methods: Forty (40) subjects (age and sex matched) were recruited and grouped into three groups: STR (n = 13), HT (n = 13), and CTL (n = 14). Plasma was collected 1-2 days after diagnosis of ischemic stroke and thrombolytic treatment. CTS levels was determined in all groups by measuring the bufadienolide CTS marinobufagenin (MBG) using a fluoroimmunoassay. Fisher Exact test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney test with Bonferroni correction were used, when appropriate, to analyze all data. Results: Participants mean age was 61 ± 12 years; 56% were male. CTS levels within the n...