T-Wave Alternans in Dialysis Patients

End Stage Renal Disease Clinical Trial

Official title: T-Wave Alternans in Dialysis Patients

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

Sudden cardiac death due to arrhythmia is the leading cause of death in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients treated with hemodialysis (HD). As it is anticipated that the number of individuals with ESRD will exceed 1.2 million in the next 20 years, sudden death in this population has enormous public health impact. Research has shown that arrhythmic events are temporally associated with longer periods between HD with a three-fold risk of events in the 12 hours preceding the longest inter-dialysis interval. The exact cause of these findings is unknown.

Clinical Trial Description

The purpose of this study is to assess the degree of cardiac electrical instability at various times in the dialysis cycle. The hypothesis is that longer time intervals between hemodialysis results in sympathetic and electrolyte-induced alterations in ventricular repolarization that can be measured non-invasively using microvolt T-wave alternans (TWA). This increase in cardiac electrical instability may serve as a link between the clinically observed periods of increased risk and the occurrence of sudden cardiac death. ;

Study Design

Observational Model: Cohort, Time Perspective: Prospective

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Death, Sudden, Cardiac
• End Stage Renal Disease
• Kidney Diseases
• Kidney Failure, Chronic
• Sudden Cardiac Death

• NCT number: NCT00621426
• Study type: Observational
• Source: Northwestern University
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 2007
• Completion date: May 2008