To Study Endothelial Dysfunction by Brachial Artery Flow-Mediated Dilatation and Its Relationship with Microalbuminuria in Hypertensive Individuals

Hypertension remains a central pathophysiologic contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.In its earliest stage, the principal endothelial alteration is merely functional and addressed as “endothelial dysfunction”.Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery has been widely used as a noninvasive marker to vascular reactivity.Both microalbuminuria and endothelial dysfunction are expressions of an endothelial pathology; however, it is still uncertainwhether they are interrelated, or if the two phenomena are caused in parallel by the cardiovascular risk burden. Aim: To studythe relationship of brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (BAFMD) with microalbuminuria in hypertensive subjects.Method: Total 120 subjects were included in the study comprising 80 hypertension cases and 40 controls. All subjects weresubjected to anthropometric measurements and routine biochemical tests – hemogram, urea, serum creatinine, liver functiontest, lipid profile, BAFMD and urinary albumin to urinary creatinine ratio (30-300 mg/g Cr). Conclusion: Mean % FMD waslower in patients with abnormal microalbuminuria compared to normal and this was statistically verified, with p = 0.016,thereby verifying the central hypothesis of this study.