What does frequent HD do to the heart?

In many people on dialysis, left ventricular hypertrophy or LVH (overgrowth of the heart's main pumping chamber) can lead to heart failure; a leading cause of death. In the Frequent Hemodialysis Network trial, 245 patients were randomized to receive standard in-center HD or frequent "daily" (six times per week) in-center HD. The nocturnal arm of the study randomized 87 patients to six nights per week of HD or three times per week standard home HD. In the daily trial, there were significant reductions in LVH—especially for those who still made some urine. There were no major differences in the nocturnal group (Editor's note: this arm of the study did not recruit enough people to draw statistical conclusions).

Read the abstract » | (added 10-02-2013)