Abstract
Background: The AHA/ACC 2018 Cholesterol Guideline categorizes ASCVD patients into very high-risk vs. high-risk to guide intensive therapy. This categorization is based on clinical conditions, including reduced kidney function, but does not take into account albuminuria, the other kidney measure often available in clinical practice. Methods: We studied 838 participants with major ASCVD (myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or symptomatic peripheral artery disease) from the ARIC study at baseline (1996 - 98). We compared urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) and the eight high-risk conditions of age 65+, reduced kidney function, diabetes, etc. in the AHA/ACC Guideline regarding their associations with composite outcome of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and heart failure. We also evaluated risk classification by adding ACR to the eight high-risk conditions. Results: During a median follow-up of 8 years, 724 (86%) participants developed a composite outcome. ACR ≥30 mg/g was associated with the composite outcome (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.45 [95% CI 1.20, 1.75]) beyond the eight high-risk conditions (aHR of these conditions ranged from 0.96 to 2.46). The addition of ACR improved the c-statistic by 0.011 (95% CI 0.003-0.019) from 0.661 to 0.672. ACR classified 4.6% of high-risk group to very high-risk and 11.2% of very high-risk group to extremely very high-risk with a reasonable calibration (Figure). Even ACR ≥10 mg/g showed a significant aHR of 1.38 (1.17, 1.63) and classified 13.4% of high-risk and 18.1% very high-risk to a higher risk category. Of our patients with ASCVD, 77% had diabetes, hypertension, or low kidney function, clinical conditions in which the ACR assessment is recommended. Conclusions: In ASCVD, albuminuria was a strong predictor of major adverse cardiovascular outcome and improved risk prediction. Clinicians should pay attention to albuminuria, in addition to eGFR, when managing ASCVD patients.
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