New National Kidney Foundation Guidelines Warn Cardiovascular Disease is the Leading Cause of Death Among Dialysis Patients

    NEW YORK, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the
 leading cause of death among dialysis patients, but the treatment for dialysis
 patients with CVD is not as effective as it is in the general population,
 according to new guidelines published by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)
 in a supplement to the April 2005 issue of the American Journal of Kidney
 Diseases. The guidelines, Cardiovascular Disease in Dialysis Patients, warn
 that CVD is also prevalent in the pediatric dialysis population, dialysis
 patients are more prone to side-effects of treatment and that more research is
 needed to help better manage CVD in dialysis patients. More than 300,000
 Americans receive dialysis to treat kidney failure.
     "This guideline highlights those aspects of CVD care that are different in
 dialysis patients when compared to the general population," said Alfred K.
 Cheung, M.D., co-chair of the NKF work group that developed the guideline.
 "Because of these differences, practitioners cannot solely rely on existing
 CVD guidelines for the general population to treat CVD in dialysis patients."
     William Henrich, M.D., co-chair of the guideline work group, developed
 through the NKF's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI),
 highlighted key findings:
 
      * Pediatric chronic dialysis patients are 1,000 times more likely to die
        from CVD than the general pediatric population
      * All dialysis units should have on-site capability for external cardiac
        defibrillation, such as automatic external defibrillators
      * Predialysis and postdialysis blood pressure goals should be less than
        140/90 mm Hg and less than 130/80 mm Hg, respectively
      * Dialysis patients often have CVD-related risk factors, including
        anemia, hyperparathyroidism, hypoalbuminemia and chronic inflammation,
        among others.
 
     "CVD presents unique challenges to dialysis patients that significantly
 impact longevity and quality of life," said Norman S. Coplon, chairman and
 founder of Satellite Healthcare, primary sponsor of the guideline. "We are
 proud to partner with the National Kidney Foundation to sponsor the
 development of this guideline. We believe it will improve patient outcomes and
 encourage sorely needed research."
 
     Guideline Work Group
     The NKF- K/DOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease in
 Dialysis Patients are the culmination of two years' work reviewing evidence
 published in peer-reviewed medical journals by 18 volunteer experts in
 nephrology, cardiology, epidemiology, social work, nutrition, pediatrics,
 pharmacology, nursing and internal medicine.
 
     Guideline Sponsors
     Satellite Healthcare is Primary Development Sponsor of the guideline.
 Additional guideline sponsors include: Amgen and Genzyme Corporation. Amgen is
 Founding and Principal Sponsor of NKF-K/DOQI. Sponsors are not involved in any
 aspect of the actual guideline development process.
     To obtain more information about the guideline, call the National Kidney
 Foundation at (800) 622-9010 or (212) 889-2210, or visit http://www.kdoqi.org.
 
     About K/DOQI
     The National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality
 Initiative (K/DOQI) provides evidence-based clinical practice guidelines
 developed by volunteer physicians and health care providers for all phases of
 kidney disease and related complications, from diagnosis to monitoring and
 management. K/DOQI expands the Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative or DOQI, a
 project begun by the National Kidney Foundation in 1995 and recognized
 throughout the world for improving the care of dialysis patients. For more
 information, please visit http://www.kdoqi.org.
 
     About the National Kidney Foundation
     The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to preventing kidney and
 urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well being of individuals and
 families affected by these diseases, influencing public policy in support of
 the kidney community and increasing the availability of all organs for
 transplantation. For more information, please visit http://www.kidney.org.
 
 

SOURCE  National Kidney Foundation