Chronic kidney disease and its adverse cardiovascular associations

However there is a significant “therapeutic inertia” and consequent sub-optimal management of patients with ESRD and associated cardiovascular diseases, owing to the fact that many such patients are often excluded in most large trials of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Moreover, due to the high incidence of associated coronary artery disease in patients with ESRD, it is important to appropriately risk stratify such patients awaiting renal transplantation. Though optimal screening protocols and frequency of testing have not been well defined, this paper discusses guidelines based practical approaches to cardiovascular risk in these high-risk patients.