Vascular calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents an extremely common condition, and cardiovascular diseases are frequently reported in this patient population. Traditional risk factors are not accurate prognostic predictors in CKD patients, and new potential markers to predict the cardiovascular involvement in uremic patients need to be identified. Vascular calcification (VC) represents a hallmark of the atherosclerotic process in CKD. This review summarizes the processes responsible for VC (particularly focusing on the mechanisms operative in the presence of renal dysfunction), discusses the utility of computer tomography modalities in the detection of VC in patients with CKD, and reports the potential role of VC as pathophysiological link between kidney disease and cardiovascular events.
Dellegrottaglie
Santo
S
Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute and Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA.
Sanz
Javier
J
Rajagopalan
Sanjay
S
D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D014511:Uremia / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*