Arterial Stiffness, Wave Reflections and Renal Failure

Observational Study on the Prognostic Significance (Renal and Cardiovascular) of Arterial Stiffness and Arterial Wave Reflections in Patients With Mild to Moderate Renal Impairment

1. Cardiovascular risk is high in patients with renal failure.
2. Cross-sectional studies have indicated a relationship between arterial stiffness and renal function. However, there are no prospective longitudinal studies in the literature.
3. In dialysis patients, arterial stiffness as well as wave reflections, predict mortality. However, there are no data on patients with mild-to-moderate renal impairment available.
4. Therefore, we designed a study to test the hypothesis that: a) measures of arterial stiffness and wave reflections predict the progression of renal impairment in patients with mild-to-moderate renal failure; and b) measures of arterial stiffness and wave reflections predict cardiovascular events in patients with mild-to-moderate renal failure

Inclusion Criteria:

• chronic renal failure patients (KDOQI III, IV) undergoing regular control visits at our nephrology department
• > 19 years
• written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• atrial fibrillation
• valvular heart disease
• severely impaired systolic function
• no informed consent