2.2 Risk factor assessment - Laboratory investigations
Clinical as well as demographic data were recorded on the day of the
echocardiographic assessment. The risk factor evaluation included: 1)
the cause of CKD, 2) prescribed medications at the time of the
enrollment, 3) time since first diagnosis of CKD and 4) a thorough
clinical examination. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood
pressure (BP) >140mmHg and/or diastolic BP
>90mmHg or history of anti-hypertensive drugs
administration. Hypercholesterolemia in CKD patients was defined as
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) >100 mg/dl or
administration of statins. Weight and height were measured and body mass
index and body surface area were then calculated. Smokers were defined
as those patients who were currently smoking or quitted smoking
<1 year ago. Blood samples were drawn early in the morning
before examination after a minimum of 12 hours overnight fast.
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured by using the CKD-EPI
formula [21]. Assessment of urine
protein in a 24-hour urine sample was also performed.