Screening for cardiovascular disease in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease.

Cardiovascular disease remains the major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and after renal transplantation. The mechanisms for cardiotoxicity are multiple. Identifying high-risk patients remains a challenge. Given, the poor long-term outcome of dialysis patients who do not receive renal transplantation and the lower supply of donor kidneys relative to demand, optimal selection of renal transplantation candidates is crucial. This requires a clear understanding of the validity of cardiac tests in this patient group. This paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of currently available diagnostic tools in patients with advanced CKD. Echocardiography is very useful for the detection of cardiomyopathy and prognosis. Stress echocardiography, myocardial perfusion imaging and coronary angiography are the best tools for the assessment of coronary artery disease. All predict outcome. No single gold standard investigation exists. At present, there is not an optimal technique for predicting sudden cardiac death in this patient group. Ultimately, the choice of cardiac test will always be determined by patient preference, local expertise and availability.