ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE IN PATIENTS ON LONG-TREATMENT-TIME DIALYSIS

Arterial compliance is found to be reduced in haemodialysis patients. It is not clear whether decreased arterial compliance in uraemic patie nts is a consequence of long-standing increased mean arterial blood pr essure or a consequence of the uraemic state. An adequate blood pressu re can be achieved by long-treatment-time dialysis of 8 h three times a week. We studied femoral and carotid artery wall properties in 24 no rmotensive patients on long-treatment-time dialysis and 24 normal cont rols matched for mean arterial pressure, age, sex, and body mass index . Arterial distensibility coefficient and compliance coefficient were determined with a vessel wall movement detector system, 24 h after dia lysis in the supine position. The patients were 5.9+/-6.6 years on lon g-treatment-time dialysis at a Kt/V of 1.8+/-0.4. We found no signific ant differences in mean arterial pressure or pulse pressure between pa tients (85+/-13, 55+/-17 mmHg) and controls (84+/-6, 50+/-13 mmHg). Fe moral distensibility coefficient and compliance coefficient were lower in patients (6.0+/-2.4 10(-3)/kPa; P < 0.05, 0.52+/-0.28 mm(2)/kPa; n .s.) compared to the controls (8.8+/-4.0 10(-3)/kPa, 0.67+/-0.38 mm(2) /kPa). No differences in carotid distensibility coefficient and compli ance coefficient were found between patients (12.8+/-4.6 10(-3)/kPa, 0 .72+/-0.30 mm(2)/kPa) and controls (14.1+/-4.4 10(-3)/kPa, 0.70+/-0.23 mm(2)/kPa). We conclude that patients on long-treatment-time-dialysis have an increased stiffening of the muscular femoral artery but not o f the more elastic carotid artery. Results suggest that the uraemic st ate itself has a deleterious effect on the elastic properties of the m uscular femoral artery.