Cardiovascular factors influencing survival in dialysis patients.

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death among dialysis patients. Cardiovascular abnormalities that predispose to mortality include acute myocardial infarction, chronic ischemic heart disease, atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease, congestive heart failure, left ventricular hypertrophy, dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic hyperkinetic heart disease, prior cardiac arrest, and possibly systemic hypertension. This review explores the influences of cardiovascular disease on survival in patients with end-stage renal disease treated with dialysis.