Heart Valve Disease Predict Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients: A Single Center Experience

Our aim is to investigate the clinical and laboratory findings affecting the mortality of the patients in 3 years follow-up who underwent hemodialysis at our center. In this retrospective, observational cohort study, 432 patients who underwent hemodialysis at our center for at least 5 months were included. The first recorded data and subsequent clinical findings of patients who died and survived were compared. Two hundred and ninety patients survived, 142 patients died. The mean age of the patients who died was higher (63.4 +/- 12.3 years, vs. 52 +/- 16.1 years, P = 0.0001), 60.5% of them had coronary artery disease (P = 0.0001), 93.7% of them had a heart valve disease. Duration of hemodialysis (survived 57 [21-260] months; died 44 [5-183] months, P = 0.000) was lower in patients who died. Serum potassium level before dialysis (5.1 +/- 0.6; 4.9 +/- 0.7 mEq/L, P = 0.030), parathyroid hormone (435 [4-3054]; 304 [1-3145] pg/mL, P = 0.0001), albumin (3.9 +/- 0.4; 3.8 +/- 0.4 mg/dL, P = 0.0001) and Kt/V (1.48 +/- 0.3; 1.40 +/- 0.3, P = 0.019) levels were lower, C-reactive protein (5[1-208]; 8.7[2-256] mg/L, P = 0.000) levels were higher in patients who died. Logistic regression analysis showed age (OR = 1.1), coronary artery disease (OR = 1.7) and more than one heart valve disease (OR = 2.4) are independent risk factors for mortality. Potassium level before dialysis (OR = 0.60), parathyroid hormone (OR = 0.99), and higher Kt/V (OR = 0.28) were found to be an advantage for survival. Age, coronary artery disease and especially pathology in more than one heart valve are risk factors for mortality. Heart valve problems might develop because of malnutrition and inflammation caused by the chronic renal failure.