A study of predictive value of microalbuminuria in early outcome of non-diabetic patients of acute myocardial infarction

Background: Excretion of albumin in urine, in the range of 30-300 mg/day is called microalbuminuria, which cannot be detected by routine urine tests. The presence of increased UAE (Urinary albumin excretion) signals an increase in the transcapillary escape rate of albumin and is therefore a marker of micro vascular disease. Thus, microalbuminuria is an early response to myocardial infarction.Methods: A prospective study of 50 patients of acute myocardial infarction was carried out to find out the sensitivity and the specificity of microalbuminuria in non-diabetic patients of acute STEMI; to verify the association between the level of microalbuminuria and the area of infarcts; and to establish the correlation of microalbuminuria with cardiac biomarkers.Results: Microalbuminuria test was positive in 92% patients in the study group and 20% subjects in the control group. The sensitivity of microalbuminuria in our study is 92% and the specificity is 80%. The level of Microalbuminuria does not statistically correlate with areas of myocardial infarction.Conclusions: Microalbuminuria is a non-specific yet highly sensitive marker of myocardial infarction and it can be used as an additional biochemical parameter in non-diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction. Prognostic marker value of microalbuminuria appears unproved.