Albuminuria in Congestive Heart Failure

Albuminuria may be an integral part of the picture of congestive heart failure. Of 161 patients in whom the histologic renal findings were considered to be either normal or to be of such a nature as not to be responsible in themselves for albuminuria, and in whom clinically obvious causes for albuminuria had been eliminated, 141, or 88 per cent, had albuminuria. The incidence of albuminuria was about equal among the various types of heart disease when heart failure existed. A trend existed for the grade of albuminuria to parallel the grade of heart failure. Based on a study of 21 patients, there seemed to be a correlation between the grade of albuminuria and the group of hypertension, according to funduscopic examination. No correlation was found between the grade of albuminuria on one hand and the systolic or diastolic values for blood pressure, the known duration of elevated blood pressure, the grades of hematuria or the values for blood urea on the other hand. Among the 161 patients with heart failure in our group 1 (kidneys either normal or containing lesions not judged to be causes for albuminuria), there was no predominant renal lesion associated with any one cardiac lesion.