Does the nephrotic syndrome increase the risk of cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular mortality and morbidity were assessed, after a mean follow-up period of 5 years, in an unselected series of 159 adults presenting with the nephrotic syndrome between 1972 and 1975. 60% of the deaths were attributed to terminal renal failure, and the incidence of deaths from ischaemic heart-disease (IHD) was not significantly above normal. The proportion of patients experiencing angina and intermittent claudication and the prevalence of ischaemic electrocardiographic changes did not differ significantly from those of a London control population. At follow-up, hypertension was significantly more common (p less than 0.001) in male nephrotic patients than in controls. Earlier reports of a greatly increased incidence of IHD in unselected patients with the nephrotic syndrome were not confirmed. Routine treatment of hyperlipidaemia in the nephrotic syndrome is not, therefore, recommended.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009404:Nephrotic Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012306:Risk; D012744:Sex Ratio; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors