Albuminuria Signals Higher Cardiorenal Risk in Hypertensive Patients: Danish Study

The research emphasizes the clinical significance of albuminuria as a strong marker for future cardiorenal complications in newly treated hypertensive patients. Although existing international guidelines advocate routine measurement of uACR in hypertension management, the low rate of testing observed in this real-world cohort raises concerns about missed opportunities for early risk identification.

“Despite current recommendations, uACR is underutilized in routine clinical practice, yet our findings show that patients with elevated uACR levels—especially macroalbuminuria—are at markedly higher risk for both cardiovascular and renal complications,” the authors noted.

The study's authors advocate for more widespread implementation of uACR screening at the time of initiating antihypertensive therapy. They argue that identifying even early signs of albumin leakage in urine could help clinicians stratify patients based on their risk and tailor management strategies more effectively.

While the research reinforces the importance of uACR in predicting outcomes, the authors also suggest further studies to explore how albuminuria levels interact with precise blood pressure measurements, which could potentially improve the identification of high-risk patients.

"The study brings to light a significant gap in routine hypertension care and offers strong evidence that more frequent evaluation of uACR could play a pivotal role in preventing future cardiovascular and kidney-related events in this vulnerable patient population," the researchers concluded.

Reference:

Binding C, Elmegaard M, Anjum DZ, Carlson N, Schou M, Bonde AN. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio in patients with hypertension and risk of major cardiovascular events. Open Heart. 2025 May 21;12(1):e003270. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2025-003270. PMID: 40398961; PMCID: PMC12097050.