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Intradialytic Hypotension and Newly Recognized Peripheral Artery Disease in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE
Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) may decrease systemic circulation to the legs, exacerbating symptoms of peripheral artery disease (PAD). We sought to evaluate the relationship between IDH and newly recognized lower extremity PAD among hemodialysis patients STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.


SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
Linking the data from USRDS to the electronic health records of a large dialysis provider, we identified adults patients (≥18 years) with Medicare Parts A and B who initiated dialysis (2006-2011) without previously recognized PAD.


EXPOSURE
Time-varying proportion of hemodialysis sessions with IDH defined as nadir intradialytic systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg. We categorized the proportion of sessions with IDH within serial 30-day intervals as 0%, >0-<15%, 15-<30%, and ≥30%.


OUTCOME
Newly recognized PAD, ascertained using PAD diagnosis codes and procedure codes for amputation or revascularization, in serial 30-day intervals subsequent to each 30-day exposure interval.


ANALYTIC APPROACH
To account for the competing risks of death and kidney transplantation, we estimated unadjusted and adjusted sub-distribution hazard ratios using the Kaplan-Meier multiple imputation method in combination with the extended Cox model to account for IDH as a time-varying exposure.


RESULTS
Among 45,591 patients, those with more frequent baseline IDH had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. During 61,725 person-years of follow-up, 7,886 patients had newly recognized PAD. We found a graded, direct association of IDH with newly recognized PAD. For example, having IDH in ≥30% of dialysis sessions during a given 30-day interval (versus 0%) was associated with a 24% higher hazard of having newly recognized PAD (95% CI, 17% to 32%) in the subsequent 30 days.


LIMITATIONS
Unmeasured confounding; ascertainment of PAD from claims CONCLUSIONS: Patients receiving hemodialysis who had more frequent IDH had higher rates of newly recognized PAD. Patients with frequent IDH may warrant careful examination for PAD.