Cardiovascular Events in Hemodialysis Patients: Challenging Against Vascular Calcification

Abstract

Particularly in patients with hemodialysis, cardiovascular mortality rate is extremely high. Polyvascular diseases develop at an early stage of CKD. Pathophysiology includes insulin resistance and/or imbalance between nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin bioavailability as well as oxidative stress. The understanding in pathophysiology of vascular calcification and strategic treatment is a critical issue to achieve favorable outcome for the patients with CKD. In this article, we aim to review the cardiovascular disease for the patients with CKD with a particular emphasis on the clinical aspects of polyvascular disease. Finally, we address to detect microcirculatory impairment and eradicate vascular calcification as early as possible prior to renal replacement therapy.