Pulmonary hypertension: a neglected risk condition in renal patients?

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension (PH), an acknowledged risk condition at the community level and in patients with heart or lung diseases, is now getting growing attention as a new, potentially modifiable cardiovascular (CV) risk factor also in individuals affected by kidney diseases. PH is highly prevalent in this setting, being about 3 to 6 times more frequent that in the general population and portends a risk excess for mortality, adverse CV outcomes and also worsen graft function in kidney transplant recipients. Several factors might be involved to explain PH in renal patients, including but not limited to volume overload, breath disorders, left heart dysfunction and the presence of highflow artero-venous fistulas. Targeting PH might lead to improved outcomes in renal patients but the lack of specific interventional studies and the need for more accurate evidence adopting standardized ways to assess PH leave the issue open for future research.

Keywords: Pulmonary hypertension; cardiovascular disease; chronic kidney disease; end-stage kidney disease; mortality.