Vascular disease and atherosclerosis in uremia.

Epidemiological and clinical studies have shown that cardiovascular disease in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is frequently related to damage of large conduit arteries. Arterial disease is responsible for the high incidence of ischemic heart disease, peripheral artery diseases, left ventricular hypertrophy and congestive heart failure. The vascular complications in ESRD are due to two different but associated mechanisms, namely atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. Whereas the former principally affects the conduit function with ischemic lesions being the most characteristic consequence, the latter primarily disturbs the cushioning function of large arteries. Arteriosclerosis in ESRD patients is characterized by diffuse dilation and hypertrophy of large conduit arteries and stiffening of arterial walls, and represents a clinical form of an accelerated aging process. The main clinical characteristics of arterial stiffening are changes in blood pressure with isolated increase in systolic pressure and normal or lower diastolic pressure. The consequences of these alterations are: (i) an increased LV afterload with development of LV hypertrophy and increased myocardial oxygen demand, and (ii) altered coronary perfusion and subendocardial blood flow distribution. Epidemiological studies have identified arterial remodeling and stiffening as independent predictors of overall and cardiac mortality in ESRD patients.