Cardiovascular effects of renal disease and hypertension in children

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Cardiovascular effects of chronic renal disease and hypertension in children

  • IRAS ID

    169627

  • Contact name

    Vivek Muthurangu

  • Contact email

    v.muthurangu@ucl.ac.uk

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    2 years, 0 months, 0 days

  • Research summary

    Children with kidney disease have a high risk of developing heart and vessel (cardiovascular) disease. There are three main mechanisms by which this is thought to occur:

    1. Damage to heart cells as a result of accumulation of byproducts which are normally removed by the kidney (such as urea).

    2. Increased heart strain as a result of high blood pressure (hypertension) that is often present in patients with kidney disease.

    3. Negative affects on the heart as a result of kidney replacement therapy - specifically, related to low blood pressure during dialysis.

    However, the exact role of each of these mechanisms is unclear because they often coexist in children with kidney disease.


    In order to better understand how each mechanism contributes to impairment of heart function in kidney disease, we will study 3 “pure” patient groups (with no overlap in mechanisms). We propose a non-invasive study using cardiac magnetic resonance to determine:

    1. Whether heart function is impaired in children with kidney failure (who are not on dialysis or hypertensive).

    2. The adverse effects on the heart from long standing hypertension in children with normally functioning kidneys.

    3. The difference in heart function in children on conventional hospital dialysis compared with children on home dialysis.

  • REC name

    London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    15/LO/0213

  • Date of REC Opinion

    31 Mar 2015

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion