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Albuminuria and heart failure
Javed Butler1,2, Adeena Jamil3, David Z I Cherney4
1Baylor Scott and White Research Institute, 3434 Live Oak St Ste 501, Dallas, TX 75204, USA.
Insights
Albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio) is a key risk marker for heart failure. Reducing albuminuria with therapies may improve cardiovascular and kidney outcomes, highlighting its potential as a modifiable factor.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Nephrology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Albuminuria is prevalent in heart failure patients and independently predicts adverse outcomes.
- Current heart failure guidelines do not universally recommend albuminuria screening, unlike other conditions.
- This lack of screening may hinder early detection and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of albuminuria in heart failure development and progression.
- To explore albuminuria as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney outcomes.
- To discuss measurement, guidelines, and the impact of therapies on albuminuria.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on albuminuria in heart failure.
- Analysis of clinical trial data linking albuminuria reduction to improved outcomes.
- Evaluation of current guideline recommendations and measurement techniques.
Main Results:
- Albuminuria is a significant risk marker for incident and pre-existing heart failure.
- Reductions in albuminuria correlate with reduced cardiovascular, heart failure, and kidney disease risks.
- Emerging therapies show potential for modifying albuminuria and improving outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Albuminuria plays a crucial role in heart failure risk stratification and prognosis.
- Screening for albuminuria in heart failure patients could enable earlier interventions.
- Albuminuria may be a modifiable target for improving heart failure and related outcomes.
Abstract:
Albuminuria, typically measured by urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, is present in nearly half of all patients with heart failure. Even at low levels, albuminuria is a well-established, independent risk marker for incident heart failure and adverse outcomes in those with pre-existing heart failure. Currently, routine urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio screening is not universally recommended in heart failure guidelines, unlike in guidelines for Type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension. Emerging data suggest that this may limit opportunities for early detection, risk stratification, and pharmacologic intervention to improve outcomes. Clinical trials of guideline-directed therapies, including renin-angiotensin inhibitors, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and finerenone show that reductions in urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio is associated with risk reductions for cardiovascular, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease outcomes, indicating that albuminuria may function as both a marker of risk and potentially a modifiable factor. This review evaluates the role of albuminuria in predicting heart failure development and progression, its potential as a modifiable risk factor, approaches for measurement, current guideline recommendations for testing, and how heart failure therapies influence albuminuria and associated outcomes.
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