Relationship of Microalbuminuria with Ischaemic Heart Disease in Non Diabetics

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE : Microalbuminuria has been an established indicator for micro and macrovascular pathology in diabetics. But there is growing evidence that microalbuminuria may be an important indicator of future chance of developing coronary arterial disease. This study was conducted to establish a relationship between microalburminuria and Ischemic cardiac Disease in non-diabetics. METHODOLOGY : 50 randomly selected non-diabetic patients with Ischemic Heart Disease who fulfilled the criteria for the study were evaluated for traditional risk factors and microalbuminuria in Thanjavur Medical College. RESULTS : Microalbuminuria was detected in 38 (76%) patients with Ischemic Heart Disease (p < 0.001). 76.4% patients with infarct pattern on ECG and 75% patients with ischemia pattern on ECG had microalbuminuria. Majority of patients had microalbuminuria levels between 30-50 mg/day (43.2% males and 46.2% females). 84.7% of female patients had microalbuminuria compared to 73% of the male patients. 79% of hypertensive patients had microalbuminuria compared to 71% of normotensive patients. 77.8% of smokers with microalbuminuria presented with myocardial infarction compared to 54.5% of non-smokers with microalbuminuria. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION : Our patients with ischemic heart disease had a significantly positive association with microalbuminuria. Hence, microalbuminuria can be regarded as an additional risk factor for ischemic heart disease