Identify the frequency of hypertension in a cohort of patients with SCD, correlating socio-epidemiological and nosological data.

A longitudinal study carried out from March 2013 to November 2017. A total of 483 patients with SCD and active registration at FundaçãoHemominas Juiz de Fora (JFO) were included. The diagnosis was confirmed by DNA analysis. A total of 208 patients were excluded for loss of follow up or refusal of the informed consent, resulting in 275 patients analyzed in this cohort. This research was approved by Ethics Committee (n° 419.415). The grant support was given by FundaçãoHemominas and National Institutes of Health HHSN2682011000071.

The patients in this study were evaluated for socioeconomic data and SCD complications. The majority of patients were children (54.9%), female (54.2%), and genotype HbSS or HbSβ0 (68.4%). The majority of children (59.6%) had social benefits, while only 31.5% of adults had these benefits. Smoking was more present within men (35.4%) than in women (26.3%). 59.2% of women had already been pregnant. The mean value for SO2 in children was 93.8% and, in adults, 92.8%. High rates of ACS were obtained, occurring in 64.2% of children and 58.9% of adults. Both Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy were more common in adults. Finally, hypertension was diagnosed in 35 patients, in a prevalence of 12.7%, in this amount, 3 patients were children.

According toWorld Health Organization (WHO) cardiovascular diseases are the main causes of death in the world. Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for a patient to develop a heart problem, especially when associated with other factors such as Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).

It is possible to assume that the chances of hypertension are higher in adults patients and in those who have SCD. Furthermore, social benefits could be a protective factor. Hypertension was associated with the presence of severe SCD genotypes, pregnancy and smoking. Two of these factors are not supposed to occur in children, what may justify the lower prevalence of hypertension in this group.