HYPERTENSION IN CONTINUOUS AMBULATORY PERITONEAL DIALYSIS PATIENTS: WHAT DO WE KNOW AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

recent dialysis patient survival rates are 62.7 % at 2 years and 29.3 % at 5 years. Although survival rates have improved somewhat compared to a decade ago, these outcomes are dismal and disappointing. The report also showed that cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases continue to be the most common causes of death (52%) in both hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. Because dialysis patients are exposed to multiple cardiovascular risk factors for a long period of time, both before and after the onset of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is not surprising. The risk factors include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, anemia, hypervolemia, diabetes, and tobacco use, among others. The presence of these risk factors in dialysis patients clearly enhances the incidence and the severity of cardiovascular disease and consequent mortality (2). Therefore, the strategy to lower cardiovascular death should be a combined effort targeting all potential risk factors. Among the risk factors, hypertension has four key features that justify more aggressive therapeutic intervention: it is highly prevalent; it is readily measurable; it is modifiable; and its treatment is proven to be effective in decreasing cardiovascular events