Dyslipidemia treatment and cardiovascular disease in the renal patient.

Cardiovascular disease is the most prevalent cause of death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), even at an early stage of the disease and is considered a coronary heart disease risk equivalent. Therefore, therapeutic efforts to control modifiable additional cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia in this population seems reasonable. Indeed, abnormalities of lipid metabolism are often encountered in patients with CKD, end stage renal disease or after kidney transplantation. In this review we will summarize the currently available data on etiology, epidemiology, and impact on cardiovascular morbidity in patients with CKD, renal pathologies like the nephrotic syndrome and after kidney transplantation and give a brief overview of the existing guidelines on treating dyslipidemia.