title: Cardiovascular risk factors and diseases strongly predict hemodialysis treatment outcome in maintenance hemodialysis patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify independent predictors of hemodialysis treatment outcome among major cardiovascular risk factors and pre-existent cardiovascular diseases in maintenance hemodialysis patients with the end-stage renal disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 144 prevalent patients on maintenance hemodialysis at Rijeka University Hospital between 1998 and 2003 were included in the prospective clinical study. Pre-existent cardiovascular risk factors and diseases were identified, as well as their relation to hemodialysis treatment outcome. Primary outcome measure was death, and secondary outcome measure was the length of time from the beginning of patient's hemodialysis treatment to the end of follow-up, ie, end of the study or patient's death. The independent variables on hemodialysis treatment outcome were identified with the multiple linear regressions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cardiovascular diseases were the major cause of death in 40 (60.6%) patients. Acute myocardial infarction in 15 (22.7%) patients was the major single cause of death. Among risk factors, hyperglycemia (P<0.001), low delivered dialysis dose (P<0.001), use of semi-synthetic dialysis membrane (P<0.001), and anemia (P=0.041) were independent predictors of hemodialysis treatment outcome. Hypertensive heart disease (P<0.001), ischemic heart disease (P<0.001), and dilated cardiomyopathy (P=0.016) were independent predictors of the hemodialysis treatment outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of death in hemodialysis patients. There was also high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and pre-existent cardiovascular diseases. Several of them were independent predictors of the hemodialysis treatment outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, Rijeka University Hospital Center, T. Strizica 3, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia. sanjin.racki@ri.t-com.hr
authors.forename: Sanjin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Racki
authors.forename: Luka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zaputović
authors.forename: Bozidar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vujicić
authors.forename: Zarko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mavrić
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grzetić
authors.forename: Jagoda
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ravlić-Gulan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome