MICROALBUMINURIA AND RENAL HEMODYNAMICS IN ESSENTIAL-HYPERTENSION

The present study was designed to evaluate the renal haemodynamic patt ern of never-treated microalbuminuric and normoalbuminuric patients wi th essential hypertension. A total of 19 never-treated essential hyper tensive patients with microalbuminuria were selected and, as control s ubjects, 24 never-treated essential hypertensive patients without micr oalbuminuria (determined on three 24-h urine collections) were recruit ed. In the two groups, we compared blood pressure values, standing pla sma noradrenaline, plasma renin activity, plasma aldosterone, urinary aldosterone, Lipid profile, serum glucose and uric acid, glomerular fi ltration rate and renal plasma flow. In comparison with normoalbuminur ic patients, microalbuminuric patients showed significantly higher sys tolic blood pressure values (P<0.05), higher renal vascular resistance s (P<0.05) and lower plasma renin activity values (P<0.01). Urinary al bumin excretion showed a significant positive correlation with systoli c (r=0.46, P<0.005) and mean blood pressure (r=0.38, P<0.05), serum ur ic acid (r=0.43, P<0.005) and triglyceride values (r=0.36, P<0.005), a nd a significant negative correlation with plasma renin activity (r=-0 .34, P<0.05). The present data are consistent with the occurrence of r enal vasoconstriction in microalbuminuric never-treated essential hype rtensive patients.