Aldosterone blockade and vascular calcification in hemodialysis patients

K Nitta, T Akiba, H Nihei - The American journal of medicine, 2003 - amjmed.com
Epidemiological studies have shown that damaged large arteries are a major contributing
factor to the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal
disease. The arterial damage is possibly associated with vascular calcification, which is an
active and modifiable process involved in many disease entities, including atherosclerosis,
cardiac valve disease, and calcific uremic arteriopathy (1). Vascular calcification has distinct
characteristics at different sites in the vessel wall, and the mechanisms by which it is induced …