Build-up of calcium in the coronary arteries of patients with chronic kidney disease might be helpful in predicting their risk of heart disease, a new research shows.
Researchers stated that 50 percent of all patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) die from cardiovascular disease. However, according to the conclusions from previous studies it was stated conventional risk factors for predicting heart disease such as blood pressure and lipid levels were not as useful in these patients.
The research led by Kunihiro Matsushita, MD, PhD, an assistant scientist in the Bloomberg School's Department of Epidemiology, aimed to find out whether other tests are helpful in determining the cardiovascular disease in those with CKD. For this, they analysed three measures of atherosclerosis -- calcium levels within blood vessel walls, the thickness of the carotid artery walls, and narrowing of arteries in the legs.
Their findings showed that the build-up of the calcium in the coronary artery walls was more useful for correctly predicting CKD patients' risk of cardiovascular disease (particularly coronary heart disease and heart failure) than other measures of atherosclerosis such as thickness of the carotid artery walls and narrowing of the arteries in the legs.
The team explained the findings are important as it could help safeguard the heart health of patients with kidney disease. "Our research is important since it assures the usefulness of coronary artery calcium for better cardiovascular disease prediction in persons with CKD, a population at high risk for cardiovascular disease but with potential caveats for the use of traditional risk factors," said lead researcher Kunihiro Matsushita, MD, PhD (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health).
The study appears in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
