Antihypertensive Medications in End-Stage Renal Disease

Hypertension is almost universal in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and contributes to the substantial cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality observed in these patients. The management of blood pressure (BP) in ESRD is complicated by a number of factors, including missed dialysis treatments, intradialytic changes in BP, medication removal with dialysis, and poor correlation of BPs obtained in the dialysis unit with those at home and with CV outcomes. Control of extracellular volume with ultrafiltration and dietary sodium restriction represents the principal strategy to manage hypertension in ESRD, and antihypertensive medications are subsequently added if this strategy is inadequate. While reduction in BP with medication improves CV outcomes, few head-to-head clinical trials have been performed to firmly establish the superiority of one antihypertensive medication class over another. Therefore, individualization of therapy is necessary, and patient comorbidities must be considered. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), and beta-blockers are reasonable first-line agents for most patients. ACE inhibitors and ARBs exert cardioprotective effects that are independent of BP reduction. Medications that are removed with dialysis may be preferred in patients who are prone to develop intradialytic hypotension. Intradialytic hypertension can be managed with challenging the patient's dry weight and using nondialyzable medications. Within a class of antihypertensive medications, there may be large variability in drug removal with dialysis, which must be considered upon medication selection. Studies demonstrate that even thrice-weekly dosing of medication after dialysis has robust BP-lowering effects, which may be a useful regimen in nonadherent patients.