"It turns out that urinary protein, an accepted predictor of calcium buildup and risk factor for heart attack that we have long relied upon, is a much stronger indicator in whites than blacks," Freedman said. This finding is important, Freedman added, because blacks with diabetes and kidney failure tend to live significantly longer after starting kidney replacement therapy (dialysis) and suffer fewer heart attacks, compared to whites.

"The vast majority of patients who develop kidney disease and start dialysis have leaked protein into their urine for many years," Freedman said. "But black patients generally live longer on dialysis, despite having more risk factors - including more protein in the urine - and typically being seen by kidney specialists later in the course of the disease, than their white peers."

The findings present the first report demonstrating that there are ethnic differences in the effect of the accepted cardiovascular disease risk factor "protein in the urine" on development of atherosclerosis. The researchers further propose that there may be inherited factors in whites that contribute to higher risk for vascular disease and heart attack, or protective inherited factors in blacks.

The next phase of this study, called the African American-Diabetes Heart Study, will attempt to identify gene variants that play a protective role against heart disease in blacks and variants that predispose whites to heart disease.

Source: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center