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Renal artery calcium associated with hypertension
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Renal artery calcium is associated with the prevalence of hypertension, according to new data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
The association is independent of CVD risk factors, abdominal aortic calcium and kidney function, researchers found.
Isac C. Thomas, MD, and colleagues hypothesized that renal artery calcium would be related to hypertension because it “may signal the presence of flow-limiting atherosclerotic disease that may contribute to changes in the kidney’s regulation of [BP].”
They analyzed 1,285 participants (mean age, 66.3 years; 54.8% women; 36.8% white) from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis who underwent abdominal CT scans.
Among all participants, 55.4% had hypertension and 46.7% were taking at least one medication for it, Thomas, from the division of cardiovascular medicine, department of medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, and colleagues wrote.
Approximately 33% of participants had renal artery calcium greater than zero (women, 33.6%; men, 32.2%; whites, 38%; Hispanics, 31.1%; Chinese-Americans, 30%; blacks, 28.8%), and those who did were more likely to be older, be smokers, have dyslipidemia, have diabetes and have a family history of CVD, they wrote.
When the researchers adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, CVD risk factors, abdominal aortic calcium score and kidney function, they found that a renal artery calcium score > 0 was associated with greater odds of hypertension (OR = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.11-2.13).
Those with presence of renal artery calcium had higher systolic BP by 8.5 mm Hg, higher diastolic BP by 2.1 mm Hg and higher pulse pressure by 7.4 mm Hg, compared with those with no renal artery calcium, Thomas and colleagues wrote.
Since the association between hypertension and renal artery calcium remains after accounting for abdominal aorta calcium and descending thoracic aorta calcium, this suggests that “beyond its association with systemic atherosclerosis, [renal artery calcium] may signal local changes in the renal vasculature that may be linked to [hypertension],” they wrote.
If those mechanisms can be determined, they “may ultimately provide new opportunities for prevention or treatment of [hypertension] in community-living individuals,” Thomas and colleagues concluded. – by Erik Swain
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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