Urinary albumin excretion, even within the normal range, predicts an increase in left ventricular mass over the following 5 years.
There is increasing evidence that urinary albumin excretion, even when below the accepted threshold values for normal excretion, may have significant impact on future cardiovascular risks. To further define this, a total of 1086 patients, aged 45 years and older from the population-based, longitudinal 'Study of Health in Pomerania' were evaluated. Patients had echocardiographic analysis at baseline and 5-year follow-up, and were grouped into quartiles according to their baseline urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio. At baseline, left ventricular mass in the first three quartiles was similar; however, the fourth quartile was significantly elevated and further increased over the 5-year follow-up. In the first quartile, the albumin-to-creatinine ratio and left ventricular mass did not significantly change over 5 years. In the second and third quartiles, the left ventricular mass progressively increased and was significantly correlated with the albumin-to-creatinine ratio. In multivariable analysis, this association was independent of other common cardiovascular risk factors and applicable to both genders. Our study found that the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, even below the current threshold for definition of microalbuminuria, is significantly associated with increased left ventricular mass.
Reffelmann
Thorsten
T
Klinik und Poliklinik für Innere Medizin B, Universitätsklinikum der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, Germany. ThorstenReffelmann@web.de
Dörr
Marcus
M
Völzke
Henry
H
Friedrich
Nele
N
Krebs
Alexander
A
Ittermann
Till
T
Felix
Stephan B
SB
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000453:epidemiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors