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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
Chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular risk
Preethi Yerram1, Poorna R Karuparthi, Laura Hesemann
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Insights
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) significantly increases cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, often due to traditional and uremia-related factors. Microalbuminuria may serve as a key marker for assessing CVD risk in CKD patients.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Cardiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health issue.
- CKD, especially with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension (HTN), accelerates end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and elevates cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
- CVD is the primary cause of premature death in CKD patients, occurring at twice the rate of the general population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the pathophysiology of CVD in CKD.
- To explore the role of microalbuminuria (MAU)-proteinuria in CVD risk assessment for CKD patients.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on the interplay of traditional and nontraditional risk factors in CKD-related CVD.
- Analysis of microalbuminuria (MAU)-proteinuria as a diagnostic and prognostic tool.
Main Results:
- CVD progression in CKD is influenced by both traditional risk factors and uremia-related nontraditional factors.
- The complex pathophysiology of CVD in CKD involves an interplay between these factors.
- Microalbuminuria (MAU)-proteinuria shows potential as a tool for CVD risk stratification in CKD.
Conclusions:
- CKD patients face a significantly higher risk of CVD morbidity and mortality.
- Understanding the multifactorial pathophysiology of CVD in CKD is crucial.
- Microalbuminuria (MAU)-proteinuria warrants further investigation as a prognostic marker for CVD in CKD.
Abstract:
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health concern, and there is emerging a strong relationship between CKD and increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. CKD in the presence of other co-morbidities such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension (HTN) can lead to early progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD/stage V CKD) and confer a greater risk for CVD morbidity and mortality. CVD events are the leading cause of premature death in patients with CKD, even before their progression to ESRD, with the rate of CVD progression being twice as common compared with the general population. The higher mortality from CVD persists even after adjusting for most of the traditional risk factors, suggesting the possible contributions of uremia-related, nontraditional risk factors. This has led to the current understanding that the pathophysiology of CVD in CKD involves a complex interplay of both the traditional as well as nontraditional, uremia-related risk factors. This review will elaborate on the pathophysiology of CVD in CKD and will discuss the role of microalbuminuria (MAU)-proteinuria as a potential diagnostic and prognostic tool for CVD in CKD risk assessment.
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