Hypertension in dialysis patients.

Hypertension is a major risk for cardiovascular complications in dialysis patients. The pathogenesis of hypertension is multifactorial and is not completely understood. Hypervolemia has always been considered a major pathogenetic factor. In addition, a disturbed hormone profile with an activated renin angiotensin system, increased catecholamine, vasopressin and endothelin, and perhaps decreased nitrous oxide activity seem to play a role in the high incidence of hypertension in dialysis patients. The influence of autonomic dysfunction on blood pressure control in hemodialysis patients is not clear. The frequent use of erythropoietin during the last decade may have contributed to the increased incidence of hypertension in the dialysis population. Data from the First Report on Dialysis and Transplant in Sicily showed that hypertension is the cause of end-stage renal disease in 8% of dialysis patients and that the incidence of hypertension, as a cause of end-stage renal disease, increased with age.