title: Coronary artery calcification and aortic pulse wave velocity in chronic kidney disease patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are at increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Many complications arise in ESRD patients as a result of the twin arterial pathologies of atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. Part of this latter process is calcification of the arterial media, which is thought significantly to increase vascular stiffness. The aim of our study was to explore the relationship between measures of arterial stiffness-pulse wave velocity (PWV)-and the extent of calcification in the coronary arteries (CAC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Over a period of 2 years 82 patients from our renal unit were invited to participate in our study. Sixty-two patients agreed to undergo electron beam computerized tomography (EBCT), and in 55 (38 males and 17 females), PWV measurements were made. EBCT and PWV measurements were done according to previously described protocols.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the 55 patients was 56.4 years. The mean duration of dialysis was 65.4 months, and the mean CAC score was 2551. The mean PWV was 9.13 m/s. PWV strongly correlated with total CAC even after correction for age, dialysis duration, and time averaged C-reactive protein (CRP) (P= 0.0001). CAC scores were significantly different when compared according to PWV tertiles (P= 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have demonstrated that PWV is strongly related to the degree of EBCT-derived coronary artery calcium score in chronic kidney disease patients.
authors.affiliation: Renal and Transplantation Unit, Guy's Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ali A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Haydar
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Covic
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Colhoun
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rubens
authors.forename: David J A
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014655:Vascular Resistance