Patients with both heart disease and CKD experience decreased risk of cardiovascular events.

Researchers find no difference between saline and sodium bicarbonate.

ATLANTA—The goal systolic blood pressure (SBP) of less than 130 mm Hg for patients with diabetes should be reconsidered after the release of new evidence showing that intensive BP control offers no clinical advantage when compared with standard control in diabetic patients, according to presenters at the 59th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology.

NEW ORLEANS—Most heart failure patients with renal failure can be managed successfully with ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), and the treatment is associated with better outcomes, said Virgina B. Thayer, MS, at the 2008 scientific sessions of the American Heart Association.

NEW ORLEANS—MI patients who have CKD are less likely to receive evidence-based therapies for MI and are more likely to die than those without CKD, Stephen D. Wiviott, MD, said at the 2008 scientific sessions of the American Heart Association.

A shift from shock-wave lithotripsy toward flexible ureteroscopy is changing the landscape of stone disease treatment, said Mihir M. Desai, MD, during the Cleveland Clinic's Nephrology Update 2008.

NEW ORLEANS—Microalbuminuria increases both the odds of developing coronary artery calcification (CAC) in patients without symptoms of coronary heart disease and the likelihood of CAC progression, Andrew P. DeFilippis, MD, MSc, reported here at the 2008 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.

CLEVELAND—Although magnesium is abundant, "it is the most neglected nutrient cation," said Zalman S. Agus, MD, at the Cleveland Clinic's Nephrology Update 2008.

CLEVELAND—The three-part paradigm of infection following organ transplantation should guide the nephrologist in assessing the risk and instituting appropriate prophylaxis and treatment of infection following kidney transplant, Robin Avery, MD, said at the Nephrology Update 2008 here.

NEW ORLEANS—Microalbuminuria is a biomarker for vascular disease and warrants aggressive treatment, which may prevent progression to overt nephropathy and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, said Debjani Mukherjee, MD, at the 23rd scientific meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.