Predicting cardiovascular mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients

Cardiovascular mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is a critical clinical challenge due to poor clinical outcome and increasing prevalence. Nephrologists and transplant specialists need suitable biomarkers to predict the occurrence of cardiovascular events and/or mortality in practice. At the technical level, development of a non-invasive repetitive sampling procedure is required to develop applicable biomarkers, offering a platform for clinicians to dynamically monitor the alteration of patient condition. Apart from specificity and sensitivity, the ideal biomarkers should be independent of various confounders such as sex, sex, age, kidney function, diabetes, and blood pressure. This article reviews recent studies on the identified potential biomarkers to analyze their predictive value and significance. The present study revealed that the identified potential biomarkers are involved in magnesium and phosphate metabolism, hormone dysregulation, pro-inflammatory process, and cardiovascular pathogenesis. Combined use of those biomarkers might allow early identification of subclinical cardiovascular system organ damage, effectively predict cardiovascular mortality, and significantly deepen our mechanistic understanding of the occurrence of cardiovascular events and mortality, which will help to develop preventive measures.