Vascular calcification in chronic kidney disease: usefulness of a marker of vascular damage

In chronic kidney disease patients, vascular calcification (VC) is a marker of advanced vasculopathy, suggesting both atherosclerotic and medial calcification. Detection and quantification of VC provide physicians with useful prognostic information independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, this knowledge may help guide appropriate therapeutic choices. A number of noninvasive imaging techniques are available to screen for the presence of VC, some with merely qualitative, and others with both qualitative and quantitative, capabilities. We review the strengths and limitations of the most common noninvasive techniques employed to image VC and the prognostic implications of VC.