HYPERTENSION IN THE HEMODIALYSIS POPULATION - A SURVEY OF 649 PATIENTS

Accurate information on prevalence and status of blood pressure control among US hemodialysis patients is lacking, We have surveyed the status of blood pressure control in 649 hemodialysis patients (89.8% black) from 10 dialysis units in Mississippi. Our results show a hypertension prevalence of 72% (hypertension defined as mean arterial pressure prior to dialysis session greater than or equal to 114 mm Hg). This mean arterial pressure did not differ among black patients compared with white patients (P = 0.51). The majority of hypertensive patients (80%) had elevation of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, Isolated systolic hypertension was present in only 20% of hypertensive patients and was not different between black and white patients (P = 0.10). Three hundred eighty-one patients (58.7% of the total population and 81.5% of the hypertensive patients) were receiving antihypertensives. Age was the only significant factor that correlated with blood pressure: older patients (>65 years) had lower blood pressure (P < 0,0001). Race, time on dialysis, etiology of end-stage renal disease, adequacy of dialysis, and several excess volume parameters had no influence on the blood pressure level. Treated hypertensive patients had a predialysis mean blood pressure only 3 mm Hg less than the untreated hypertensive patients. No differences were found among four classes of antihypertensives with regard to the degree of blood pressure control. Patients with hypertension requiring more than one antihypertensive did not achieve a lower blood pressure than the untreated patients. There was no correlation between use of antihypertensives and the magnitude of decrease in blood pressure after dialysis. Our results document the high prevalence and resistant nature of hypertension in the hemodialysis population. It also casts doubt on the effectiveness of our current methods of treatment. Excess volume may not be as important in these patients as once thought. (C) 1995 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.