Chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease: pathophysiologic links.

This is the second in a series of three articles about the risk factors and complications related to chronic kidney disease and their impact on cardiovascular disease. This article focuses on identifying pathophysiologic mechanisms by which two traditional risk factors of cardiovascular disease (hypertension and dyslipidemia), and two nontraditional risk factors associated with chronic kidney disease (anemia and abnormalities in bone and mineral metabolism) contribute to the markedly increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality seen in individuals with chronic kidney disease.