| [ Summary ] |
The number of elderly and diabetic patients is increasing steadily. The rate of increase in the elderly population in Japan is the fastest in the world. The current proportion of longterm dialysis patients, > 10 years, is more than 25 % in Japan. Compared to the general population, pulse pressure is higher in the dialysis population. Thus, it is difficult to control volume overloads and hypertension. It is necessary to attain and maintain "dry-weight" by removing excess fluid through dialysis and salt restriction. However, those procedures are time consuming because there is a time-lag phenomenon between attainment of dry-weight and normalization of blood pressure. Evidence is lacking for treatment of hypertension in the elderly and the general population. Better communication between physicians, including cardiologist and comedical staff members, is required to coordinate treatment of medical problems in the chronic dialysis population. |