To the Editor.
—We were interested by the findings of Johnson and Giorgio, who showed, in the June issue of the Archives (1981;141:891-894), that blood pressure (BP) in sickle cell disease is lower than in control populations. We agree with their results, particularly concerning diastolic BP.
Report of Cases.
—We studied BP in 81 patients with sickle cell disease during a survey in the outpatient department of St Elizabeth Hospital, Curaçao, the Netherlands. Patients were not in crisis and not receiving any diuretic or antihypertensive drugs. Dietary sodium intake was not monitored. The BP was recorded in a supine position. Diastolic BP was noted as Korotkoff's fourth sound. The group consisted of 22 patients with sickle cell hemoglobin C disease, and 59 patients with homozygote sickle cell disease. Control readings were obtained from a population survey in Curaçao by Dr T. A. J. Kroon and Dr C. J. J. Westermann.