Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics (N=34).a
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Age (years) | 56 ± 15 |
| Female | 8 (24) |
| Black race | 22 (65) |
| Hispanic | 11 (32) |
| Dialysis vintage (years) | 6.3 ± 5.0; 5.6 [2.0, 9.2] |
| Hospitalizations (%)b | 2 (6) |
| History of kidney transplant | 2 (6) |
| ESKD cause | |
| Diabetes | 9 (27) |
| Hypertension | 12 (35) |
| Glomerular disease | 4 (11) |
| Other | 9 (27) |
| Comorbid medical conditions | |
| Diabetes | 17 (50) |
| Congestive heart failure | 14 (41) |
| Coronary artery disease | 11 (32) |
| Hypertension | 30 (88) |
| Cancer | 3 (9) |
| TTE characteristicsc | |
| LV global longitudinal strain (%)c | −15.5 ± 3.3; −15.9 [−17.6, −12.3] n=32d |
| LV ejection fraction (%) | 52.8 ± 6.9; 53.0 [49.1, 57.0] n=32d |
| E/e’ | 11.6 ± 4.6; 10.2 [8.8, 14.8] n=32d |
| Blood pressure medications | |
| Beta blocker | 23 (68) |
| Calcium channel blocker | 15 (44) |
| RAAS inhibitor | 16 (47) |
| Diuretic | 8 (24) |
| Other anti-hypertensive medication | 7 (21) |
| Midodrine | 2 (6) |
| Vascular access type | |
| Fistula | 24 (70) |
| Graft | 5 (15) |
| Catheter | 5 (15) |
| Hemodialysis treatment | |
| Delivered treatment time (minutes) | 220 ± 27 |
| Pre-HD systolic BP (mmHg) | 150 ± 27 |
| Prescribed target weight (kilograms) | 69 ± 14 |
| UF volume (liters) | 2.7 ± 1.8 |
| Intradialytic hypotension (%)e | 13 ± 15 |
| Delivered UF rate (mL/h/kg) | 10.3 ± 3.7 |
| Symptomsf | |
| Cramping | 5 (15) |
| Nausea or upset stomach | 1 (3) |
| Vomiting | 0 |
| Dizziness or light-headedness | 3 (9) |
| Racing heart or heart palpitations | 1 (3) |
| Chest pain | 0 |
| Shortness of breath | 1 (3) |
| Thirst or dry mouth | 5 (15) |
| Headache | 2 (6) |
| Itching | 6 (18) |
| Restless legs or difficulty keeping legs still | 6 (18) |
| Tingling or feeling of pins and needles | 2 (6) |
| Time to recovery after hemodialysis (hours) | 4.5 ± 6.5 |
Values presented as n (%), mean ± standard deviation, and median [quartile 1, quartile 3].
Percentage of patients with a hospitalization during the baseline period. No patients had more than 1 hospitalization during this period.
LV global longitudinal strain is a measure of left ventricular systolic function. Normal range is −16 to −19% with less negative numbers reflecting greater impairment.[28]
Two baseline TTEs were of poor quality due to technical difficulty obtaining the examinations.
Percentage of baseline treatments with a nadir systolic BP <90 mmHg.
(+) symptom defined as patient-reported symptom to the level of moderate, severe or very severe.
Abbreviations: BP, blood pressure; E/e’, early mitral inflow velocity/mitral annular early diastolic velocity; ESKD, end-stage kidney disease; HD, hemodialysis; LV, left ventricular; RAAS, renin angiotensin-aldosterone system; TTE, transthoracic echocardiography; UF, ultrafiltration.