Abstract:

Objective    To explore the association of microalbuminuria(MA) with femoral arterial stiffness and sensitive indicators of early target organ damage in hypertensive patients. Methods     128 individuals were divided into three groups: the healthy controls (n=35),patients with normal microalbuminuria (group A, n=50), and microalbuminuria (group B,n=43). Body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FPG), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), serum creatinine（Cr）, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL)，low density lipoprotein cholesterol（LDL），blood urea nitrogen（BUN），systolic pressure(SBP)，diastolic pressure(DBP) and pulse pressure(PP) were measured in all subjects. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratios（ACR）were measured with immunoturbidimetry； femoral arterial intima-media thickness (IMT), peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), systolic diameter (Ds) and diastolic diameter (Dd) were measured with ultrasonography； stiffness, tensityand distensibility of the femoral artery were calculated; pulse wave velocity(cfPWV) were measured with an arterial elasticity meter.  Results    Compared with the controls, ACR, cf-PWV and stiffness in group A and group B were significantly increased (P＜0.05); tensity  and distensibility in group B were significantly decreased (P＜0.01); ACR was positively related with PWV and stiffness （P＜0.01) and negatively related with femoral tensity and distensibility (P＜0.05).  Conclusion     ACR, cf-PWV and femoral arterial stiffness are non-invasive and sensitive indicators，which could predict early target organ damage and cardiovascular risk in hypertension.

Key words: Essential hypertension; Microalbuminuria; Femoral arterial stiffness; Pulse wave velocity