The number one cause of death for dialysis patients is sudden cardiac death (SCD). A 10 year study published in a recent issue of Kidney International also found systemic inflammatory response and malnutrition as key risk factors for fatal heart attacks.
 
Researchers gathered data from the Choices for Healthy Outcomes In Caring for ESRD (CHOICE) group of 1,041 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on dialysis. In a nine and a half year period, 658 participants from the group died. The largest number of these deaths, 146, was the result of SCD. The study showed ESRD patients with low albumin and/or high levels of IL-6 (interlukin-6) and hsCRP (high sensitivity C-reactive) are at a significantly higher risk of SCD.

This article originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Renal Flash.