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.