Correlation of Early Vascular Aging Ambulatory Score with Kidney Damage in a Hypertensive Population: A Pilot Study

TL;DR

This pilot study shows that a new score for early vascular aging is linked to kidney damage in people with high blood pressure.

Contribution

The study introduces and validates the Early Vascular Aging Ambulatory score as a potential non-invasive marker for kidney damage in hypertensive patients.

Findings

EVAAs was positively correlated with albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) in hypertensive patients.

EVAAs showed inverse correlations with serum potassium and sodium levels.

Higher EVAAs values were observed in participants with moderately increased albuminuria, though not statistically significant.

Abstract

Background: Early vascular aging (EVA) reflects accelerated arterial stiffening and is closely linked to cardiovascular and renal target organ damage. The Early Vascular Aging Ambulatory score (EVAAs) estimates EVA using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and routinely available clinical parameters. We aim to investigate the association between EVAAs-defined early vascular aging and markers of kidney involvement—particularly albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR)—in a hypertensive population. Methods: Fifty treated hypertensive adults undergoing 24 h ABPM were enrolled. All participants underwent laboratory evaluation, including serum electrolytes and 24 h urine collection for albumin, creatinine, sodium, and potassium. EVAAs was calculated using ABPM-derived parameters and established cardiovascular risk factors. Results: EVAAs was positively correlated with ACR (r = 0.276, p = 0.049). In addition, inverse correlations were observed between EVAAs and serum potassium (r = −0.290, p = 0.038) and serum sodium (r = −0.284, p = 0.046). Participants with moderately increased albuminuria tended to exhibit higher EVAAs values, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: EVAAs is associated with early markers of renal involvement in hypertensive patients, supporting its potential role as a non-invasive indicator of subclinical target organ damage. Larger studies are warranted to confirm these findings and to further validate EVAAs as a clinically useful marker of EVA.

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