Daily dialysis reduces pulse wave velocity in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a predictor of morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Dialysis patients show cyclic changes in PWV related to their hydration status and blood pressure. Our aim is to assess the impact of daily dialysis on PWV. We performed a randomized crossover study of 60 patients who underwent standard hemodialysis (HD) three times per week for at least 6 months. Patients were classified into three groups according to their PWV values before (pre-) and after (post-) HD, with a cutoff value of 12 m s(-1), as follows: the low-low (LL) group had normal pre-HD and post-HD PWV; the high-low (HL) group had high pre-HD PWV and normal post-HD PWV; and the high-high (HH) group had high pre- and post-HD PWV. All patients continued standard HD for 2 weeks. A total of 10 patients from each group were randomly assigned to continue standard HD for 1 week and then underwent daily dialysis for 1 week. The remaining 10 patients underwent daily dialysis for 1 week and then underwent standard HD for 1 week. PWV values were measured before and 1 h after each dialysis session. With daily dialysis treatment, 2 of 20 patients (10%) moved from the PWV-HH group to the PWV-HL group, whereas 18 of 20 patients (90%) moved from the PWV-HL group to the PWV-LL group (P = 0.030). Daily dialysis reduces PWV in the ESRD patients. As PWV is a strong predictor of mortality in ESRD and has cyclic variations in patients who are on standard HD, we believe that daily dialysis may be used in patients with high PWV levels to reduce their mortality risk.