Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis, representing more than 50% of the all-cause mortality (1,2). In the general population, it was estimated that 17.5 million people died from CVDs in 2005, representing 30% of all global deaths (3). Among dialysis patients, the mortality related to CVD is 10 - 30 times that in the general population, despite stratification for sex, race, and the presence of diabetes (4). In our country, China, more than 50% of patients on dialysis eventually die of cardiovascular- or cerebrovascular-related events (5,6).
展开▼
