Abstract 2280: Urine Albumin/creatinine Ratio, Cardiac Structure And Diastolic Function In Patients With Hypertension And Diastolic Dysfunction: The Validd Study

Background: Increasing urine albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) is associated with systemic microvascular damage and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, the relationship between albuminuria and left ventricular (LV) diastolic function, an early measure of myocardial end-organ damage in hypertension, has not been well defined. Methods: Urine ACR and echocardiographic measures of LV structure and function were assessed in 384 patients enrolled in the VALsartan In Diastolic Dysfunction (VALIDD) trial with mild hypertension and no heart failure and evidence of diastolic dysfunction based on Doppler assessment of myocardial relaxation velocities. Results: Urine ACR was undetected in 151 (39.3%) subjects, between 1 to 30 mg/g in 194 (50.5%), and > 30mg/g in 39 (10.2%). The mean blood pressure in the cohort was 143.8 ± 16.1/86.2 ± 10.3 mmHg and LV hypertrophy was present in < 4% of enrolled patients. Higher urine ACR was associated with lower annular relaxation velocity (E′), higher E/E′ (Figure ), higher prevalence of concentric LV remodeling and higher NT-ProBNP even after adjusting for age, diabetes, systolic BP, eGFR and LV mass index (LVMi) (p < 0.02 for all associations). Conclusion: Albuminuria is associated with worsening diastolic function in patients with hypertension, and both measures may represent important and modifiable markers of early end-organ damage even in patients with mild blood pressure elevation. E′ stratified by urine albumin creatinine ratio E/E′ stratified by urine albumin creatinine ratio