Active renin mass concentration to determine aldosterone-to-renin ratio in screening for primary aldosteronism

BACKGROUND: Active renin mass concentration (ARC) is independent of the endogenous level of angiotensinogen, and less variable and more reproducible than plasma renin activity. Reference values for the aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) using ARC are still undefined. The objective of the present study was to determine the threshold of ARR using ARC measurement to screen for primary aldosteronism. METHODS: A total of 211 subjects were included in the study, comprising 78 healthy normotensive controls, 95 patients with essential hypertension, and 38 patients with confirmed primary aldosteronism (20 with surgery-confirmed aldosterone-producing adenoma and 18 with idiopathic adrenal hyperplasia). Blood samples were drawn from ambulatory patients and volunteers in the mid-morning without specific dietary restriction for measuring plasma aldosterone concentration, ARC, and serum potassium. RESULTS: Most normotensive controls and essential hypertension patients had ARR results below 100 pmol/ng, a value which corresponded to 3.3 times the median of these two groups. CONCLUSION: Patients with ARR values above this level should be considered for further investigation (confirmatory tests) or for repeat testing should ARR values be borderline. This study indicates that ARC can be used reliably in determining ARR for primary aldosteronism screening.