Aims: Renal neurohormonal activation leading to a reduction in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) has been suggested as a mechanism for renal insufficiency (RI) in the setting of heart failure. We hypothesized that RI occurring in the presence of renal neurohormonal activation may be prognostically more important than RI in the absence of renal neurohormonal activation.
Methods and results: Subjects in the Evaluation Study of Congestive Heart Failure and Pulmonary Artery Catheterization Effectiveness (ESCAPE) trial (n = 429), Beta-Blocker Evaluation of Survival Trial (BEST) (n = 2691), and Studies Of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD) trial (n = 6782) limited datasets were studied. The blood urea nitrogen to creatinine ratio (BUN/Creatinine) was employed as a surrogate for renal neurohormonal activation and the primary outcome was the interaction between BUN/Creatinine and RI associated mortality. Baseline RI (GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m²) was associated with mortality in all study populations (P < 0.001). In patients with higher BUN/Creatinine, the risk of mortality was consistently greater in patients with RI [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) ESCAPE = 2.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-14.3, P = 0.019; BEST = 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.2, P = 0.002; SOLVD = 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-2.0, P = 0.001]. However, in patients with lower BUN/Creatinine, the risk of mortality was not elevated in patients with RI (adjusted HR ESCAPE = 0.94, 95% CI 0.35-2.4, P = 0.90, P interaction = 0.005; BEST = 0.97, 95% CI 0.64-1.4, P = 0.90, P interaction = 0.02; SOLVD = 1.0, 95% CI 0.8-1.3, P = 0.71, P interaction = 0.005).
Conclusion: The association between RI and poor survival observed in heart failure populations appears to be contingent not simply on the presence of a reduced GFR, but possibly on the mechanism by which GFR is reduced.