Albuminuria

Urinary Marker Predicts Prognosis in Heart Failure

By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: August 17, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and
Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner

Urinary albumin may predict the prognosis for heart failure patients independent of renal dysfunction and other factors including diabetes, researchers found.
Microalbuminuria increased the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure by 43%, and macroalbuminuria increased risk by 75% compared with normal albumin excretion (both P<0.0001), according to John J.V. McMurray, MD, of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and colleagues.

Treatment with the angiotensin-receptor blocker candesartan (Atacand) did not reduce albuminuria compared with placebo in their subanalysis of CHARM (Candesartan in Heart failure: Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and Morbidity) trials, reported in the Aug. 15 issue of The Lancet./.../