Relation of Plasma Midregional Proatrial Natriuretic Peptide to Target Organ Damage in Adults With Systemic Hypertension

We tested the hypothesis that, in adults with essential hypertension, plasma levels of midregional proatrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) are associated with target organ damage. MR-proANP is a newly described stable fragment of N-terminal proatrial natriuretic peptide. Participants included 1,919 adults with hypertension identified from the community (1,037 African-Americans, 65 ± 9 years of age, 72% women; 882 non-Hispanic whites, 61 ± 9 years of age, 55% women). We measured MR-proANP by an immunoluminometric assay. Measurements of target organ damage included the ankle–brachial index (ABI), urinary albumin–creatinine ratio (UACR), and left ventricular (LV) mass (available only in African-Americans). Generalized estimating equations were used to assess whether plasma MR-proANP was associated with measurements of target organ damage, independent of potential confounding variables. In African-Americans, higher MR-proANP was significantly associated with lower ABI (p <0.0001), higher UACR (p <0.0001), and greater LV mass (indexed to height to the power of 2.7, p <0.0001). After adjustment for age, gender, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, estimated glomerular filtration rate, smoking history, diabetes mellitus, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterols, medication (blood pressure lowering, statin, and aspirin) use, and previous myocardial infarction or stroke, higher MR-proANP levels remained significantly associated with lower ABI (p = 0.01), higher UACR (p = 0.0007), and greater LV mass index (p <0.0001). In non-Hispanic whites, higher MR-proANP levels were significantly associated with lower ABI (p = 0.002) and greater UACR (p = 0.001), but not after adjustment for the covariates listed earlier. In conclusion, plasma MR-proANP may be a marker of target organ damage in the setting of hypertension, especially in African-Americans.