Visit-to-Visit Variability of Blood Pressure and Renal Function Decline in Patients With Diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease

Although both high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (Hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels are higher among patients with cardiac structural abnormalities than among those with apparently normal hearts, there is considerable overlap between the groups. The authors evaluated 1336 patients who had >= 1 cardiovascular risk factors, underwent echocardiography, and had Hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP measured and excluded patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. The patients in the highest Hs-cTnT category in quintiles had an increased likelihood of abnormal relative wall thickness compared with those in the lowest category (odds ratio, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-2.36; P<.01). However, no such association was found in the category of NT-proBNP. The patients in the highest NT-proBNP category had an increased likelihood of abnormal LV diastolic dimension/body surface area compared with those in the lowest category (odds ratio, 2.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-3.79; P<.05). However, no such association was found in the category of Hs-cTnT. The data suggest that the measurement of Hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP might provide information on cardiac structural abnormalities.