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(Circulation. 2008;118:e688.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Correspondence

Letter by Huzen et al Regarding Article, "Association of Leukocyte Telomere Length With Circulating Biomarkers of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System: The Framingham Heart Study"

Jardi Huzen, MD; Dirk J. van Veldhuisen, MD, PhD; Pim van der Harst, MD, PhD

Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

To the Editor:

We read with great interest the article titled "Association of Leukocyte Telomere Length With Circulating Biomarkers of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System: The Framingham Heart Study" by Vasan et al.¹ The authors conclude that leukocyte telomere length is shorter in individuals with a higher renin-to-aldosterone ratio (ie, a more active renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system), especially in hypertensive subjects. Surprisingly, the authors present only serum renin and aldosterone levels as biochemical indicators of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system; they also could have used some clinical proxies to further strengthen the concept of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activation (ie, blood pressure, left ventricular hypertrophy, B-type natriuretic peptide, incident heart failure, or other measures available in the Framingham Heart Study²). Instead of requesting confirmation of their findings, the authors themselves could have confirmed (or not) the findings of others suggesting a link of telomere length with activated renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system characteristics, including blood pressure measures and heart failure (or B-type natriuretic peptide as proxy).^3–5

	Acknowledgments

 
Disclosures

None.

	References

Top References

 
1. Vasan RS, Demissie S, Kimura M, Cupples LA, Rifai N, White C, Wang TJ, Gardner JP, Cao X, Benjamin EJ, Levy D, Aviv A. Association of leukocyte telomere length with circulating biomarkers of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2008; 117: 1138–1144.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

2. Kathiresan S, Gona P, Larson MG, Vita JA, Mitchell GF, Tofler GH, Levy D, Newton-Cheh C, Wang TJ, Benjamin EJ, Vasan RS. Cross-sectional relations of multiple biomarkers from distinct biological pathways to brachial artery endothelial function. Circulation. 2006; 113: 938–945.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

3. Benetos A, Okuda K, Lajemi M, Kimura M, Thomas F, Skurnick J, Labat C, Bean K, Aviv A. Telomere length as an indicator of biological aging: the gender effect and relation with pulse pressure and pulse wave velocity. Hypertension. 2001; 37: 381–385.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

4. van der Harst P, van der Steege G, de Boer RA, Voors AA, Hall AS, Mulder MJ, van Gilst WH, van Veldhuisen DJ, for the MERIT-HF Study Group. Telomere length of circulating leukocytes is decreased in patients with chronic heart failure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007; 49: 1459–1464.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

5. Jeanclos E, Schork NJ, Kyvik KO, Kimura M, Skurnick JH, Aviv A. Telomere length inversely correlates with pulse pressure and is highly familial. Hypertension. 2000; 36: 195–200.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

This Article Extract Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Huzen, J. Articles by van der Harst, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Huzen, J. Articles by van der Harst, P. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information High Blood Pressure Related Collections Congestive Other hypertension Hypertension - basic studies