Background: To identify one of the physiological underlying mechanisms of the predictive effects of urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) for the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), we investigated the relationship between urinary L-FABP levels and subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR), a marker of myocardial perfusion, in middle- and older-aged adults.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 249 middle- and older-aged adults (aged 46-83 years). We measured urinary L-FABP levels and central hemodynamic parameters, including SEVR, calculated by pulse wave analysis using an applanation tonometry.
Results: In the participants stratified in accordance with the tertiles of urinary L-FABP levels, SEVR decreased in a stepwise fashion with increasing tertiles (p < 0.001). Furthermore, this association remains significant after the consideration of various confounders. On the contrary, urinary albumin levels were not independently related with SEVR.
Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that urinary L-FABP levels were independently associated with the SEVR of the middle- and older-aged adults. This result suggests that the increase in urinary L-FABP levels even within the normal range might be related to the decrease in myocardial perfusion (SEVR).
Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; intra-renal microcirculation; myocardial perfusion; pulse wave analysis; tubular biomarker.