Renal function and cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients.

TLDR: Data obtained in a large cohort of essential hypertensive patients are reported that reveal a significant inverse correlation between values of estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at baseline and mortality due to ischaemic heart disease (IHD) during follow-up.

Abstract: During recent years, numerous studies have demonstrated the existence of a close relationship between alterations in renal function and a significant increase in cardiovascular risk in different clinical situations. The relationship appears to be particularly relevant in the hypertensive population due to the high prevalence of arterial hypertension in the general population and the frequent finding of alterations of renal function in individuals with elevated values of blood pressure [1]. Analysis of the alterations of renal function in different series of patients with arterial hypertension shows that the higher the global cardiovascular risk in a given hypertensive patient, the higher the possibility of finding the simultaneous presence of a deranged renal function [2]. In this issue of the journal, Hailpern et al. [3] report data obtained in a large cohort of essential hypertensive patients that reveal a significant inverse correlation between values of estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at baseline and mortality due to ischaemic heart disease (IHD) during follow-up. Such a relationship persisted after adjustement for all known cardiovascular risk factors, and an increase of 33% in risk for mortality due to IHD was observed for each reduction in estimated GFR of 10 ml/min per 1.73 m.