Coagulation and fibrinolysis factors in dialysis patients with and without ischemic heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with end-stage renal disease. In addition, abnormalities of coagulation and fibrinolysis have been reported in patients with uremia. However, whether these hemostatic abnormalities lead to cardiovascular disease in dialysis patients is currently unknown. Therefore, we investigated the association of hemostatic factors with ischemic heart disease (IHD) in patients on peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. The study patients comprised 30 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients and 18 hemodialysis patients. Twenty healthy subjects served as controls. We evaluated each subject's hemostatic factors, including factor VII, factor XII, thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), fibrinogen, plasmin-antiplasmin complex (PIC), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), and D-dimer. In dialysis patients, IHD was diagnosed by documented myocardial infarction or positive result on coronary angiogram or by positive thallium myocardial scintigraphy. Factor VII, fibrinogen, PIC, and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in the two dialysis groups than in controls. All hemostatic variables were similar between the two dialysis groups. Subject age (p = 0.005), PIC (p = 0.005), and D-dimer level (p = 0.003) were significantly higher in patients with IHD than in patients without IHD in the dialysis groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that only patient age and D-dimer levels were independent predictors of IHD. Adjusted odds ratio for IHD was 1.06 for each 10 ng/mL increase of D-dimer (p = 0.06). In CAPD patients, only D-dimer was independently associated with IHD (odds ratio: 1.06, p = 0.03). We conclude that multiple hemostatic abnormalities are present in dialysis patients and that elevated D-dimer levels are independently associated with prevalent IHD.