BMC Nephrology (Jan 2022)

Cardiac valve calcification is associated with mortality in hemodialysis patients: a retrospective cohort study

  • Jiuxu Bai,
  • Xiaoling Zhang,
  • Aihong Zhang,
  • Yanping Zhang,
  • Kaiming Ren,
  • Zhuo Ren,
  • Chen Zhao,
  • Qian Wang,
  • Ning Cao

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12882-022-02670-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Background Cardiac valve calcification (CVC) is common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We investigated the effect of CVC on all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 434 hemodialysis patients who underwent echocardiography for qualitative assessment of valve calcification with complete follow-up data from January 1, 2014, to April 30, 2021. The baseline data between the CVC and non-CVC groups were compared. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to analyse all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The association of CVC with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality was evaluated using multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results Overall, 27.2% of patients had mitral valve calcification (MVC), and 31.8% had aortic valve calcification (AVC) on echocardiography. Patients with CVC showed significantly higher all-cause (log-rank P < 0.001) and cardiovascular (log-rank P < 0.001) mortality rates than patients without CVC. In multivariate regression analyses, MVC (HR: 1.517, P = 0.010) and AVC (HR: 1.433, P = 0.028) were significant factors associated with all-cause mortality. MVC (HR: 2.340, P < 0.001) and AVC (HR: 2.410, P < 0.001) were also significant factors associated with cardiovascular mortality. Conclusions MVC and AVC increased the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in MHD patients. Regular follow-up with echocardiography could be a useful method for risk stratification in MHD patients.

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