Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN
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Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · Aug 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial of Individualized Dialysate Cooling for Cardiac Protection in Hemodialysis Patients.
Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in patients on hemodialysis (HD). HD-associated cardiomyopathy is appreciated to be driven by exposure to recurrent and cumulative ischemic insults resulting from hemodynamic instability of conventionally performed intermittent HD treatment itself. Cooled dialysate reduces HD-induced recurrent ischemic injury, but whether this confers long-term protection of the heart in terms of cardiac structure and function is not known. ⋯ In patients new to HD, individualized cooled dialysate did not alter the primary outcome but was well tolerated and slowed the progression of HD-associated cardiomyopathy. Because cooler dialysate is universally applicable at no cost, the intervention warrants wider adoption or confirmation of these findings in a larger trial.