Peritoneal Dialysis International, Vol 21, Issue Suppl_3, S285-S289
Copyright © 2001 by International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis
Undertreatment of cardiac risk factors in adolescents with renal failure
U Querfeld
Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Humboldt University, Charite University Hospital, Berlin, Germany. uwe.querfeld@charite.de
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death in adults with end-stage renal disease and after renal transplantation, and the relative excess of mortality is greatest in the young. The most likely explanation is the dramatic accumulation of both classical and uremic risk factors leading to atherosclerosis, uremic vasculopathy, and uremic cardiomyopathy. Prospective studies have established the significance of classical and uremic risk factors for the occurrence of CVD in the normal population and in the population with chronic renal disease alike. However, whether and to what degree modification of risk factors by therapeutic intervention can lower morbidity and mortality rates is as yet unknown.
