Pulse Wave Velocity: A Valuable Predictor for Cardio-Cerebrovascular Disease and Death in PD Patients

AIMS: To evaluate the value of pulse wave velocity (PWV) to predict cardio-cerebrovascular (CVD) and death in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. METHODS: In all, 59 maintenance PD patients from January 2012 to December 2012 were enrolled. Patients were classified as group A (>9 m/s) and group B (≤9 m/s), based on the results of carotid-femoral PWV (CF-PWV). RESULTS: CF-PWV was positively correlated with age (r = 0.71, p < 0.01), left atrial diameter (r = 0.58, p < 0.01), left ventricular mass index (r = 0.59, p < 0.01) and 24H average systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r = 0.57, p < 0.01). Age (relative risk (RR) 1.086, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.024-1.153, p < 0.01) and 24H average SBP (RR 1.047, 95% CI 1.013-1.082, p < 0.01) were risk factors of higher CF-PWV. The cumulative and new CVD free survival rates of group A significantly decreased. Elder (RR 1.114, 95% CI 1.013-1.224, p = 0.026) and higher PWV (RR 1.482, 95% CI 1.01-2.176, p = 0.044) were risk factors of CVD in PD patients. CONCLUSION: PWV is a valuable predictor of CVD and death in PD patients.