Table 1.

Clinical and Demographic Characteristics of Prevalent Hemodialysis Subjects at Baseline

Variable	N = 442
Age (y)	59.1 ± 15.7
Sex (% men)	51.1
Race (%)
White	59.1
Black	34.8
Other	6.1
Hispanic ethnicity (v non-Hispanic) (%)	2.7
Tobacco use (v nonuse) (%)	31.2
Diabetes mellitus (v no diabetes) (%)	44.9
Diabetes as cause of ESRD (v other) (%)	30.5
Hypertension (%)	89.2
Arrhythmia (%)	18.0
Coronary artery disease (%)	30.0
Congestive heart disease (%)	20.9
Left ventricular hypertrophy (%)	41.1
Peripheral vascular disease (%)	19.7
Cerebrovascular disease (%)	18.2
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (%)	12.6
Malignancy (%)	8.6
Blood pressure (mm Hg)*
Predialysis
Systolic	148.8 ± 25.1
Diastolic	78.6 ± 15.7
Postdialysis
Systolic	137.8 ± 25.6
Diastolic	73.0 ± 14.3
Change in systolic blood pressure	10.9 ± 25.0
Interdialytic weight gain (%)	3.8 ± 1.7
Dry weight (kg)	76.8 ± 20.2
Baseline laboratory data
Albumin (g/dL)	3.7 ± 0.5
Creatinine (mg/dL)	9.2 ± 3.2
Antihypertensive medications (v no antihypertensive use) (%)	76.1
No. of antihypertensive medications	1.5 ± 1.1
Antihypertensive class (% use)
ACE inhibitors	30.0
α-Blocker	5.0
β-Blocker	34.3
Calcium channel blocker	39.3
Diuretic	3.9
Nitrate	15.5
Vasodilator	18.9
Epoetin use (v nonuse) (%)	89.6
Duration of dialysis (y)	2.1 (0.3-10.3)
Access type (%)
Arteriovenous fistula	34.3
Arteriovenous graft	43.6
Catheter	22.1
Treatment group (v usual care) (%)	51.3

Note: Values expressed as mean ± SD, percent, or median (5% to 95% interquartile range). To convert serum albumin in g/dL to g/L, multiply by 10; creatinine in mg/dL to mmol/L, multiply by 88.4.

Abbreviations: ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; ESRD, end-stage renal disease.

^*Obtained as an average of blood pressure recordings from 4 dialysis sessions during enrollment.