Biomarkers Determining Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Kidney Disease

G.      Siasos; D.      Tousoulis; S.      Michalea; E.      Oikonomou; C.      Kolia; S.      Kioufis; A.      Synetos; K.      Vlasis; A.      G. Papavassiliou; C.      Stefanadis

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of premature death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Recent evidence suggests that the interaction of ‘‘classic’’ and ‘‘non-classic” cardiovascular risk factors is an important contributor in excessive and accelerated CVD in patients with CKD. Indeed, the imposing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of CKD patients corresponds to a significant extent in endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular calcification and volume overload. In addition, the kidney’s function decline is independently associated with CVD in patients with chronic kidney disease. Currently, there is a growing interest in the role of new biomarkers that are closely correlated with CVD in CKD population. In current review, we summarize the so far acquired knowledge of the most promising biomarkers and we discuss the major clinical correlations of novel risk factors and new biomarkers of CVD in CKD patients, their predictive value for future cardiovascular events and their use in the treatment monitoring of this population.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis, biological markers, cardiovascular risk, chronic kidney disease, endothelial dysfunction, endothelium, hemodialysis, inflammation, renal function, kidney disease