Hypertension
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The importance of volume status on blood pressure in hemodialysis patients has long been recognized. We hypothesized that the enhanced volume dependency of blood pressure is partly determined by ventricular stiffness at end systole. A total of 115 long-term hemodialysis patients were invited to receive a comprehensive, noninvasive cardiovascular examination. ⋯ End-systolic elastance was also significantly correlated with various vascular function parameters, including effective arterial elastance (r=0.48, P<0.001), pulse wave velocity (r=0.30, P=0.001), carotid augmentation index (r=0.31, P<0.001), and aortic compliance (r=-0.49, P<0.001). The results suggest that end-systolic elastance, a direct measure of left ventricular mechanical properties at end systole, is coupled to arterial mechanical properties and predicts the extent of subsequent interdialytic systolic blood pressure rise relative to weight gain. Therefore, ventricular stiffness at end systole is a determinant of the enhanced volume sensitivity of blood pressure in hemodialysis patients.