Cardiovascular disease in the uremic patient

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Uremia, which is associated with the deterioration of renal function, is a complex process that influences all cardiac structures. The most important manifestations of this disorder are hypertensive and anemic heart disease, coronary artery disease and heart valve diseases. Cardiovascular diseases are thus the primary cause of death in patients on hemodialysis. This book presents strategies to significantly reduce cardiac morbidity / mortality in uremic patients. Topics include the role of oxidative stress (caused by anemia) in cardiovascular injury and the correction of anemia by means of erythropoietin. This correction also significantly reduces increased oxidized lipoprotein species, key factors of arteriosclerosis. Another risk factor which is discussed is severe left-ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which predisposes ventricular arrhythmia triggered by critically reduced coronary reserve, often leading to sudden death. A multi-interventional interdisciplinary therapeutic approach to achieve improvement in cardiac morbidity / mortality is of utmost importance in the treatment of uremic patients. Nephrologists confronted with these patients will thus highly profit from the treatment strategies presented in this book.