RELATION OF MICROALBUMINURIA AND CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE IN NON DIABETIC PATIENTS

INTRODUCTION: Prospective studies confirmed that microalbuminuria is a predictor of cardiovascular diseases, independent of classical risk factors and is associated with all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes or hypertension and in the general population. However, there is few data linking angiographic severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) to microalbuninuria (MA). We examined coronary angiograms for extent of severe CAD (luminal narrowing 50%) in patients without Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and general population. METHODS: Our study comprised of 153 patients undergoing coronary angiography in Hazrat Fatemeh hospital in Iran (M/F 80/73, mean age 57 +/- 11 y). Urine albumin excretion was measured in 24h urine samples by immune precipitation technique. Age-sex, distribution of coronary risk factors and MA were compared between patients with and without CAD. RESULTS: Overall, 70.5% (108) of patients had CAD and 29.4% (45) had no coronary lesion. MA was detected in 62.9% of patients with CAD and 8.8% of those without coronary artery lesion (P < 0.05). The presence of 1 or 2 vessels CAD showed a linear increase from group to group without microalbuminuria (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with MA have more severe angiographic CAD compared to those without MA. This relation is independent of other risk factors.