Cardiovascular risk in diabetic end-stage renal disease patients

Diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), accounting for 54% of all incident cases according to the US Renal Data System. These patients suffer an extremely high mortality rate due to the very high incidence of cardiovascular disease. A significant proportion of these patients already has established cardiovascular disease at the time of initiation of dialysis treatment. More importantly, as these patients develop progressive kidney dysfunction, they are not only subjected to traditional Framingham risk factors, but, more importantly, to a whole host of "kidney disease-related risk factors" that further accelerate the progression of cardiovascular disease and thus contribute to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The present article provides an updated view on the multitude of traditional Framingham risk factors and kidney disease-related risk factors that diabetic ESRD patients are subjected to. A better understanding of the different cardiovascular risk factors will be fundamental to institute early detection programs, as well as to provide aggressive cardiovascular management of these patients.