RESUMO
Hypertension is an important worldwide public-health challenge because of its high frequency and concomitant risks of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and kidney disease. This study was designed to compare total and ionized calcium levels between patients with newly detected essential hypertension and normotensive controls. The ionized serum calcium levels are significantly lowered in newly detected essential hypertensive patients when compared to normotensive controls. The total serum calcium levels are not significant and levels are found to be same in the hypertensive as well as the normotensive patients. The total and ionized serum calcium levels have a significant negative correlation with the level of systolic blood pressure and with the diastolic blood pressure in newly detected essential hypertensive patients. The total and ionized serum calcium levels showed no significant difference with age, sex, BMI, life style, smoking, alcohol, family history of hypertension in newly detected essential hypertensive patients