Aim. To study the association between cystatin C levels and preclinical lesions in the target organs (heart, kidney, vessels) of patients with hypertensive disease (HD) at moderate and high risks for cardiovascular events (CVE). Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 47 patents (30 men and 17 women) with Stages I-II HD at moderate (n=23) and high (n=24) risks for CVE. The patients' mean age was 46.0±1.8 years; the duration of HD was 4.1±0.2 years. The blood level of cystatin C was estimated by photometry using a biochemical autoanalyzer. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated by the MDRD formula. Microalbuminuria (MAU) was determined by turbidimetry employing a biochemical autoanalyzer. Results. No association between cystatin C level and 24-hour blood pressure (BP) monitoring readings was found in the patients except the men in whom it was correlated with 24-hour diastolic BP (DBP) (r=0.36; p<0.05). The hypertensive patients showed a positive correlation of cystatin C with their age (r=0.51; p<0.001). There were higher cystatin C levels in smoking patients with HD (n=19) and no statistically significant differences in the level of MAU, urine uric acid, and GFR between them. There was a statistically highly significant negative correlation between cystatin C concentration and GFR by the MDRD formula (r=-0.59; p<0.001), at the same time, no correlation was found between creatinine clearance (by the Cockroft-Gault formula). There were no statistically significant differences in cystatin C levels in relation to the presence or absence of carotid atherosclerosis (1.01±0.03 and 0.93±0.02 mg/l, respectively; p=0.08). Overall, there was a positive correlation of cystatin C levels with left ventricular mass index (r=0.58; p<0.001) and relative myocardial thickness index (r=0.40; p<0.05). Conclusion. The findings of the association of cystatin C and 24-hour DBP, preclinical lesions in the heart, vessels, and kidney seem to argue for the concept of cardiorenal syndrome in patients with HD just at its early stages.
