We studied 222 untreated nondiabetic essential hypertensives. In patients with reliable 24-h urine collections, AER and CrCl were determined.
Microalbuminuria (MAU) was defined as an AER of 20 to 200 µg/min. Aortic stiffness was assessed by measurement of carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (c–f PWV).
C–f PWV was higher in subjects with MAU than in those without it (p < 0.001, even after adjustment for age, sex and mean arterial pressure) and in subjects with CrCl below 90 ml/min/1.73 m2 when compared to those with greater values of CrCl (p = 0.04 after correction for age, sex and mean arterial pressure).
There was a significant interaction of MAU and reduced CrCl regarding c–f PWV (p = 0.04).
In multiple regression analysis, AER and CrCl remained independently associated with aortic stiffness (β = 0.22; p < 0.001 and β = − 0.13; p = 0.02, respectively).
In essential hypertensive patients microalbuminuria and mildly reduced CrCl are related independently of each other with increased c–f PWV and exert a synergistic unfavourable effect on aortic stiffness.