Pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients

Cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients. The principal alterations responsible are left ventricular hypertrophy and arterial disease characterized by an enlargement and hypertrophy of arteries and the high prevalence of atheromatous plaques. Left ventricular hypertrophy is the consequence of combined effects of chronic hemodynamic overload and nonhemodynamic biochemical and neurohumoral factors characteristic of uremia. The hemodynamic overload is due to how and pressure overload. The flow overload is tightly related to hyperkinetic circulation caused by anemia, arteriovenous fistula, or overhydration and is characterized by an enlargement of the left ventricular cavity. The pressure overload in these patients is more tightly related to abnormal geometry and function of large conduit arteries, principally the stiffening of arterial tree. The flow overload is also in large part responsible for remodeling of arterial tree, and as the heart and vessels are a coupled interactive physiological system, cardiac and vascular alterations occur in parallel, being induced to a great extent by the same hemodynamic abnormalities. The principal clinical consequences of left ventricular hypertrophy and arterial alterations are heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral artery, disease. Cardiovascular alterations are only partly reversible, and efforts should be directed toward early prevention.