Follow-up of cardiovascular risk markers in hypertensive patients treated with irbesartan: results of the i-SEARCH Plus Registry.

Microalbuminuria (MAU), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are risk markers used to predict the prognosis of hypertensive patients; however, they have not been prospectively evaluated in primary care. An investigation was conducted using i-SEARCH Plus, a registry documenting 1649 patients with hypertension who received irbesartan at office-based cardiologists over 12 months. Mean age at baseline was 61.

Prevalence of microalbuminuria and its associated cardiovascular risk: German and Swiss results of the recent global i-SEARCH survey.

Question Under Study: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of microalbuminuria (MAU) in hypertensive patients attending an office or hospital based cardiologist or internist. An additional aim was to describe associations between MAU and cardiovascular risk factors as well as to investigate the role of pharmacotherapy.

Methods: International, observational, cross-sectional study of 22282 patients with 5605 attendees in Germany and Switzerland at 444 cardiology centers.