Significantly higher activity of erythrocyte NHE in patients with EH was observed: median 8.83 (interquartile range 4.27) mmol/l RBC/h, compared to C: median 6.18 (2.80) mmol/l RBC/h, p <0.001.
NHE genes play a critical role in pH homeostasis and cellular volume regulation and can be considered candidate genes for essential hypertension and renal disease.