Exploring the Relationships between Hemoglobin, the Endothelium and Vascular Health in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The ideal hemoglobin target in chronic kidney disease remains unknown. Ultimately, individualized targets may depend upon the properties of the patient's endothelial and vascular milieu, and thus the complex relationships between these factors need to be further explored. METHODS: Forty-six patients with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <30 ml/min/1.73 m(2) or on renal replacement therapy underwent measurement of hemoglobin, endothelial microparticles (EMPs) and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) at 0, 3 and 6 months. In addition, a number of inflammatory, cardiac and vascular biomarkers were measured at baseline. RESULTS: No correlation was observed between baseline values of PWV and EMPs, PWV and hemoglobin, or hemoglobin and EMPs in the overall cohort. When stratified by CKD status, a positive correlation was observed between PWV and EMP CD41–/CD144+ in patients with GFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m(2) only (r = 0.54, p = 0.01). Asymmetric dimethylarginine correlated with baseline PWV (r = 0.27, p = 0.07), and remained significantly correlated with the 3- and 6-month PWV measurement. CONCLUSIONS: In this small heterogeneous cohort of dialysis and non-dialysis patients, we were unable to describe a physiologic link between anemia, endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness.