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Renal endpoints in hypertension trials

Helle Christiansen1, Julian Segura, Luis M Ruilope

  • 1Unidad de Hipertension, Madrid, Spain.

Clinical and Experimental Hypertension (New York, N.Y. : 1993)
|February 11, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Minor changes in kidney function, including serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate, predict poor patient outcomes and increased cardiovascular risk in hypertensive individuals.

Area of Science:

  • Nephrology
  • Cardiology
  • Hypertension Research

Background:

  • Growing interest in renal function assessment in clinical trials.
  • Nephrosclerosis is a major cause of end-stage renal disease.
  • Minor renal function alterations predict poor patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the detection, prevalence, and relevance of minor renal function alterations.
  • To assess the role of these alterations in cardiovascular risk stratification for hypertensive patients.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent large-scale trials investigating renal function.
  • Analysis of data on serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), microalbuminuria, and proteinuria.
  • Correlation of renal function markers with cardiovascular events and mortality.

Main Results:

  • Elevated serum creatinine and diminished eGFR are associated with increased cardiovascular events and mortality.
  • Presence of microalbuminuria and/or proteinuria indicates a significant risk elevation.
  • Minor renal function changes are relevant for cardiovascular risk stratification.

Conclusions:

  • Early detection of minor renal function alterations is crucial.
  • These alterations are significant predictors of cardiovascular events and mortality in hypertensive patients.
  • Incorporating renal function assessment improves cardiovascular risk stratification.

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