Elevated urinary albumin concentration predicts worse clinical outcomes in hospitalized acute decompensated heart failure patients

Abstract Objective To investigate the prognostic value of elevated urinary albumin concentration (UAC) in hospitalized acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients. Methods We measured UAC at baseline in 1818 hospitalized ADHF patients who were admitted to our Heart Failure Center. All patients were followed up for a median period of 937.5 days. The primary endpoint was a composite of all‐cause death or heart transplantation (HTx) or left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Results In total, 41.5% of ADHF patients had albuminuria (UAC ≥ 20 mg/L). The median value of UAC was 15.5 mg/L. A total of 679 patients died or underwent HTx/LVAD during follow‐up. The median UAC was significantly lower in non‐HTx/LVAD survivors (14.3 mg/L) than in those who died or underwent HTx/LVAD (18.0 mg/L, P < 0.001). Compared with patients without albuminuria (reference, n = 1064), those with albuminuria had a 1.47‐fold higher risk of all‐cause death or HTx/LVAD (95% confidence interval [CI]:1.26–1.71, P < 0.001), with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.42 (95% CI: 1.21–1.66) and 1.74 (95% CI: 1.33–2.26) in patients with microalbuminuria (20 mg/L ≤ UAC < 200 mg/L, n = 617) and macroalbuminuria (UAC ≥ 200 mg/L, n = 137), respectively (both P < 0.001). After adjustment for significant clinical risk factors, the albuminuria group had a higher risk of primary adverse events than the non‐albuminuria group (HR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.09–1.50, P = 0.003), with HRs of 1.27 [95% CI: 1.07–1.49] and 1.36 [95% CI: 1.01–1.84] in patients with microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria, respectively (P = 0.006 and P = 0.041). The adjusted risk of primary adverse events also increased with the degree of albuminuria in the test for trend (HR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.06–1.37, P for trend = 0.004). In the subgroup analysis, albuminuria had a significantly greater prognostic value for patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 40%, eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, BUN/creatinine ratio ≥ 20 or NT‐proBNP < 2098 pg/mL. Conclusion The presence of albuminuria evaluated by UAC predicts adverse clinical outcomes in hospitalized ADHF patients