RESUMEN
Background: abdominal aortic calcification [AAC] is a marker of subclinical atherosclerotic disease and an independent predictor of subsequent vascular morbidity and mortality
Aim of the work: this study was conducted to investigate the association of abdominal aortic calcification with cardiac abnormalitiesin hemodialysispatient [HD]
Methods: this cross-sectionalobservational study wasperformed on 90 patients [50 males and 40 females]with chronic kidney disease, stage 5 [CKD]of varying etiologies from hemodialysis unit at Al-Hussein UniversityHospital. They wereundergoing regularhemodialysis for more than 6 monthes.Laboratory investigations were done including liver function tests, kidney function tests,complete blood count [CBC],C-reactive protein [CRP], fasting and random blood glucose,lipid profile, calcium, phosphorus,calcium phosphate productandparathormone[PTH].In addition, Echocardiography and X-ray plain radiography were determined
Results: out of 90 HD patients, 37 patients [41.1 %] had valvular calcification, all of them [41.1 %] had aortic valve calcifications and AAC score exceeded 6. Only 7 patients [7.8%] had mitral valve calcifications. Moreover, cases with mitral valve calcifications had aortic valve calcification and AAC score above 12. Seven patients [7.8 %] had mildaortic regurgitation [AR] and 4 patients [4.44%] had aortic stenosis
Conclusion: AAC precedes the occurrence of cardiac abnormalities in HD patients and has been shown to have significant prognostic significance for cardiovascular events and mortality