Interview with
Jeffrey H. Burbank
Founder& CEO of NxStage

Hemodialysis.com: What are the main findings of the study?

Visit-to-visit blood pressure (BP)  variability was high in this population of patients with
end stage renal disease receiving hemodialysis, and it was a major predictor of cardiovascular events.

Hemodialysis.com: Were any of the findings unexpected?

Visit-to-visit BP variability but not baseline continuous and dichotomized systolic blood pressure (SBP) or diastolic blood presure (DBP) predicted the composite cardiovascular outcome.

Hemodialysis.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? 

Our results suggest that normal BP determined by SBP <140 mm Hg and/or DBP <90 mm Hg is of limited prognostic value in this population

Visit-to-visit BP variability assessment using CVSBP (coefficient of variation of the systolic blood pressure values at each visit) may be appropriate in the clinical care of these patients beyond usual BP.

Hemodialysis.com : What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?  

Future studies should evaluate the role of BP variability in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease in the setting of end stage renal disease, beyond casual SBP and DBP themselves, and whether reducing BP variability influences the occurrence of cardiovascular events.

Reference:

Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability Is a Strong Predictor of Cardiovascular Events in Hemodialysis: Insights From Fosidial.
Patrick Rossignol, Joelle Cridlig, Philippe Lehert, Michèle Kessler, and Faiez Zannad
Hypertension. 2012;HYPERTENSIONAHA.111.190397published online before print July 9 2012, doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.111.190397