Vascular Changes in Hypertension: Is There Cell Death Involved? – A Narrative Review

Background: Cardiovascular disease can be triggered and accelerated by hypertension and the underlying changes in the structure and function of arteries. The purpose of this review is to explore some vascular changes that occur in hypertension as a consequence of the imbalance between cell proliferation and cell death, processes that play an important role in stabilizing the thickness of the arterial wall during vascular remodeling. Methods: The authors conducted research through PubMed and Google Scholar databases using the following search formula: (hypertensive*) AND ((vascular modifications)) OR (vascular changes)) AND (cell death). Results: From 40 articles, only 17 publications were included in this study, taking into account four processes that can be preceded or followed by inflammation and depend on the interaction between local growth factors, vasoactive substances, and hemodynamic stimuli: Cell proliferation and growth; Cell migration; Cell death; Degradation or reorganization of extracellular matrix. Conclusions: To summarize, maladaptive vascular changes in hypertension can represent a major argument for prompt and maximal therapeutic intervention in patients with high cardiovascular risk. Moreover, they can represent an important step in discovering new markers of cardiovascular risk and in the development of new targeted therapies for different pathways of cellular signaling through which the reversibility of abnormal vascular changes could be obtained.