Ischemia-Modified Albumin Is Associated with Arterial Stiffness in Hemodialysis Patients

Increased arterial stiffness is strongly associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a useful biomarker of cardiac ischemia. This study was aimed to explore the association between IMA and arterial stiffness in hemodialysis patients. An observational study was conducted with 120 hemodialysis patients. Clinical data and laboratory characteristics were collected. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Hemodialysis patients had extensive arterial stiffness and high levels of IMA. Comparing to hemodialysis patients with normal baPWV, those with high baPWV had significantly higher levels of IMA (93.7 ± 8.6 versus 73.1 ± 10.7 Ku/L, P = 0.027). The multiple linear regression analysis showed that IMA was significantly associated with arterial stiffness in hemodialysis patients (β = 0.43, P < 0.001). Moreover, IMA, with a threshold value of 90.4 Ku/L, provided 77.4% sensitivity and 86.6% specificity for predicting arterial stiffness. Hemodialysis patients with arterial stiffness had high levels of IMA. IMA was a good predictive marker of arterial stiffness for hemodialysis patients.