Association between hyperhomocysteinemia and ultrasonographic atherosclerotic indices of carotid arteries in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Background: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular events are a major cause of morbidity and the main cause of mortality in hemodialysis patients. Hyperhomocysteinemia--which is a consistent finding in uremic patients--is considered an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the relationship between plasma homocysteine (Hcy) concentrations and atherosclerotic CVD has not been extensively investigated.