University of Minnesota/University of Puerto Rico: Practice Based Learning Collaborative: New National Kidney Foundation Guidelines Warn Cardiovascular Disease is the Leading Cause of Death Among Dialysis Patients

April 6, 2005

New National Kidney Foundation Guidelines Warn Cardiovascular Disease is the Leading Cause of Death Among Dialysis Patients

NEW YORK, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among dialysis patients, but the treatment for dialysis patients with CVD is not as effective as it is in the general population, according to new guidelines published by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) in a supplement to the April 2005 issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. The guidelines, Cardiovascular Disease in Dialysis Patients, warn that CVD is also prevalent in the pediatric dialysis population, dialysis patients are more prone to side-effects of treatment and that more research is needed to help better manage CVD in dialysis patients. More than 300,000 Americans receive dialysis to treat kidney failure.

"This guideline highlights those aspects of CVD care that are different in dialysis patients when compared to the general population," said Alfred K. Cheung, M.D., co-chair of the NKF work group that developed the guideline. "Because of these differences, practitioners cannot solely rely on existing CVD guidelines for the general population to treat CVD in dialysis patients."