Evidence for severe atherosclerotic changes in chronic hemodialysis patients: comparative autopsy study against cardiovascular disease patients without chronic kidney disease.

Atherosclerosis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity among hemodialysis patients, but whether it is more severe in hemodialysis patients than in cardiovascular disease patients without chronic kidney disease is unclear. We examined 46 autopsy patients who had undergone hemodialysis, and age and sex-matched 46 patients with cardiovascular disease and an eGFR of >60 mL/min/1.73 m(2). There was no difference in the prevalence of diabetes or hypertension between the groups. We divided the aorta into four segments: A, ascending artery to arch; B, descending artery to diaphragm; C, suprarenal; and D, infrarenal. We used the classification of the American Heart Association to evaluate atherosclerosis progression. Distribution was scored by the extent to which each segment was damaged: 0, none; 1, less than 1/3; 2, more than 1/3 to less than 2/3; 3, more than 2/3. Histological examination revealed that the progression score (P < 0.05) and distribution score (P<0.005) were more severe in the hemodialysis group, especially in segment A. Regression analysis showed that atherosclerosis of segment A was related to age, gender, dyslipidemia, smoking, hemodialysis therapy, and hemodialysis duration. In hemodialysis patients, atherosclerotic changes in the aorta were more severe than in cardiovascular disease patients with an eGFR of >60 mL/min/1.73 m(2). Aortic atherosclerosis was aggravated by traditional and chronic kidney disease-related risk factors.