Low-grade Albuminuria and the Incidence of Heart Failure in a Community-based Cohort of Elderly Men

Aims: To investigate associations of urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) and heart failure (HF) incidence in a community-based sample.

Methods And Results: In a prospective study of 70-year-old men free from HF at baseline (n = 1106), UAER (from timed overnight samples) was analysed with established risk factors for HF [acute MI before baseline, acute MI during follow-up (modelled as a time-dependent covariate), hypertension, diabetes, left ventricular hypertrophy, smoking, body mass index, and glomerular filtration rate] and more recently described risk factors [high-sensitive C-reactive protein and insulin sensitivity (clamp glucose disposal rate)] as predictors of HF incidence. Ninety-eight participants developed HF during a median follow-up of 9.0 years. In Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for established and novel risk factors for HF, a 1 SD increase in log UAER increased the risk of HF in individuals without anti-hypertensive treatment (hazard ratio 1.49; 95% CI 1.13-1.98; P = 0.005). Furthermore, UAER remained an independent predictor of HF, also in participants without diabetes at baseline or myocardial infarction at baseline or during follow-up. There were no significant associations between UAER and HF incidence in individuals with anti-hypertensive treatment.

Conclusion: Our observations support the notion that low-grade albuminuria is a marker for subclinical cardiovascular damage that predisposes to future HF in the community.