Pulmonary Hypertension in HD Patients Increases Death Risk

Kidney Int. 2009;75:969-975

Pulmonary hypertension (PHT) independently predicts greater mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients, Israeli researchers report.

A team at the Rambam Health Care Campus and B. Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, studied 127 HD patients, of whom 37 had PHT. The condition was present in 17 patients before starting HD and developed in 20 patients after HD initiation. These two subgroups had similar survival, which was significantly worse when compared with subjects without PHT.

In multivariable analysis, development of PHT before and after the start of HD was independently associated with a 3.6 and 2.1 times increased risk of death, respectively, compared with patients who did not have PHT.

From the June 01, 2009 Issue of Renal and Urology News