Cardiovascular Aspects of Dialysis Treatment

Cardiovascular complications are not only responsible for more than half of our patients' mortality, they also represent the bulk of everyday problems in a dialysis unit. Yet, the space allocated to them in the major textbooks covers only 2-8% of their total content. The origins of this book lie in many years of day-to-day care of dialysis patients. It gradually became clear to the author that systematic application of well-known pathophysiological principles could improve patients' conditions beyond expectations. More importantly, it appeared that world literature was mainly concerned with evaluating risk factors and that efforts to improve prognosis were concentrated on urea removal. It is important, therefore, to notice that Volume Control', the central issue of this book, is not incorporated into the Adequacy' concept. While primarily intended for dialysis doctors, the author sincerely hopes that dialysis nurses, who carry the lion's share of day-to-day responsibility for dialysis patients, will also find this book a useful and practical guide to dialysis treatment.

Inhalt
1 Normal physiology.- 2 Terminal renal failure.- 3 Results of fluid retention.- 4 Hypertension in dialysis patients.- 5 Pathophysiology and treatment of hypertension in dialysis patients.- 6 Dialysis hypotension.- 7 Heart disease in dialysis patients.- 8 Special aspects of dialysis-related heart disease.- 9 Vascular disease.- 10 Effusions in serous cavities.- 11 Anemia and the heart.- 12 Nutritional aspects.- 13 Peritoneal dialysis.- 14 Final considerations and future perspectives.