Cardiovascular Complications in Chronic Kidney Disease

The risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality remains alarmingly high in all stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). CVD often begins before end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and patients with reduced kidney function are more likely to die of CVD than to develop ESRD. Three pathological forms of CVD should be considered in patients with CKD: alterations in cardiac geometry, including left ventricular hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, and arteriosclerosis. All are highly prevalent in patients with CKD. Although patients with CKD share many of the same risk factors for CVD as the general population, there are a number of uremia-related risk factors, such as anemia and alterations in calcium/phosphorus metabolism, that also play a role in promoting CVD. Treatment of both traditional and uremia-related risk factors should be initiated in the earlier stages of CKD. Additional clinical trials with a goal to reduce CVD are urgently needed in CKD.