Abstract
Cardiovascular disease, especially ischemic heart disease, determines the outcome of life expectancy in dialysis patients. For the correct and timely diagnosis and treatment of ischemic heart disease, disease background has to be clarified. Between Jan. 1998 and Dec of 2002, there were 125 dialysis patients with significant coronary artery stenosis diagnosed and/or treated by catheter or surgical intervention for the first time after initiation of dialysis therapy. All patients were admitted to our institution at the time of diagnosis. There were 95 males and 30 females patients with diabetes (DM) comprised 44%, those with glomerulonephritis (CGN) 38%, and hypertensive nephrosclerosis (NSC) 9%. NSC patients (70±10(SD) yrs) were older than CGN (61±9) or DM (62±9). Dialysis duration in NSC (2.2±2.3yrs) and in DM (4.0±3.8) were shorter than that in CGN (10.4±7.5: p<0.05 for both). Thus, in NSC and in DM, ischemic heart disease tends to occur early after the initiation of dialysis. In CGN, both short-term and long-term dialysis patients were noted and some had been on dialysis for more than 20 years. It is recognized that ischemic heart disease had occurred as a consequence of aging with long-term dialysis in these populations. Medical care providers should be aware that ischemic heart disease can occur at any time in dialysis patients as a whole. Understanding the disease background of ischemic heart disease in dialysis patients is also important.
