Calcium channel blocker use and mortality among patients with end-stage renal disease

Patients on dialysis suffer from alarming rates of cardiovascular disease. While calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are prescribed widely to patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) for the treatment of hypertension, the long-term outcomes associated with the use of these medications are not known. We sought to determine the association between CCB use and mortality among a cohort of ESRD patients.

Data were utilized from the United States Renal Data System Dialysis Morbidity and Mortality Wave II, a randomly selected prospective cohort of 4065 ESRD patients who began dialysis in 1996. Clinical data, including medication information, were collected 60 days after the start of dialysis. Subsequent survival status and cause of death were ascertained. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the relative risk of death associated with CCB use.

Data from 3716 patients (91.4%) were available for analysis. Fifty-one percent of the study patients were prescribed a CCB. The use of a CCB was associated with a 21% lower risk of total mortality (RR 0.79, CI 0.69 to 0.90) and a 26% lower risk of cardiovascular specific mortality (RR 0.74, CI 0.60 to 0.91). For patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease, CCB use was associated with a 23% (RR 0.77, CI 0.65 to 0.91) and 32% (RR 0.68, CI 0.53 to 0.87) lower risk of total and cardiovascular mortality, respectively.

After controlling for known risk factors and potential confounders, CCBs were found to be associated with a lower risk of mortality among ESRD patients.