Calcified Plaques in Carotid and Femoral Arteries in Association with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Ejection Fraction in Hemodialysis Patients

Background/Objectives: Two principal cardiovascular findings in end-stage renal disease (ESRD)patientswhoundergohemodialysisareleftventricularhypertrophy(LVH)andarterial diseaseduetorapidlyprogressiveatheroscleroticvasculardiseasethatcanbecharacterized by arterial plaques. In this studywe studied the relationship of LVH and ejection fraction withcarotidandfemoralarteryplaquesinESRDpatientsundergoinghemodialysis. MaterialsandMethods:Sixty-oneESRDpatientswhounderwentmaintenancehemodialysis (F=23, M=38) were considered. There were 50 non-diabetic hemodialysis patients (F=20, M=30)and11diabetichemodialysispatients(F=3,M=8).Forallthesubjectsechocardiography and B-mode ultrasonographicassessmentofcarotid-femoralarteries for plaqueoccurrence wereperformed. Results: In this study there was a positive correlation between LVH and the duration of hemodialysis treatment; and also a significant associationbetween LVH and plaque score. Positivecorrelationwasalsodemonstratedbetweenhypertensionandplaquescore.Alsoan inverse correlation of plaque score with LV ejection fraction was noted. Moreover, the associationofplaquescorewithdiabetesmellituswaspositive. Conclusion: The present study signifies the cardiac and vascular adaptation secondary to ESRDanddemonstrates thepotentialcontribution ofstructuraland functionalalteration in the largearteries to thepathogenesis of leftventricularhypertrophy,which requiresmore attentioninhemodialysispatients.