title: Relationship between albumin excretion rate and aortic stiffness in untreated essential hypertensive patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate, in a group of nondiabetic essential hypertensive patients with normal renal function, the relationship between albumin excretion rate (AER) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), as an index of aortic stiffness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outpatient hypertension clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy patients with mild-to-moderate essential hypertension, aged 42 +/- 8 years, never pharmacologically treated. All subjects underwent routine laboratory tests, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring, measurement of carotid-femoral PWV, by means of a computerized method, and AER.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Microalbuminuric patients (AER > or = 20 microg min(-1); n = 19), when compared with normoalbuminuric subjects, showed more elevated 24-h BP (136/88 +/- 10/10 vs. 128/83 +/- 7/6 mmHg; P < 0.001 and P = 0.013, for systolic and diastolic BP respectively) and higher values of carotid-femoral PWV (10.4 +/- 2 m s(-1) vs. 9.2 +/- 1.3; P = 0.006). This latter difference remained statistically significant, even after correction by ancova for 24-h systolic and diastolic BP, and body mass index (BMI, P = 0.016). Univariate regression analysis disclosed a tight correlation between AER and carotid-femoral PWV (r = 0.42; P = 0.0003). This association was confirmed in a multiple regression model (beta = 0.35; P = 0.009) in which, as independent variables, besides PWV, 24-h BP, age, serum glucose values, smoking status, gender and BMI, were added.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results seem to confirm that microalbuminuria may represent the early renal manifestation of a widespread vascular dysfunction, and therefore it is an integrated marker of cardiovascular risk.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Malattie Cardiovascolari e Nefrourologiche, Cattedra di Medicina Interna e Centro Ipertensione, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy. giusemme@email.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mulè
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cottone
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vadalà
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mezzatesta
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mongiovì
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nardi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andronico
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cerasola
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001011:Aorta / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004548:Elasticity; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011674:Pulse; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors