Evaluation of Vascular Calcinosis Risk Factors in Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis: Lack of Influence of Calcium Carbonate

Abstract

(1) The effect of high doses of calcium carbonate is possibly harmful only when supraphysiological levels of plasma calcium are induced, whereas plasma phosphate is not adequately decreased. The doses of calcium carbonate per se have no deleterious effect (2). Since alkaline phosphatase is not covariant with the extension of calcinosis, the degree of hyperparathyroidism per se does not seem to play a causative role in vascular calcinosis (3). The main risk factors of vascular calcinosis are: age, the male sex, diastolic blood pressure and blood triglycerides.