Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in hemodialysis patients - The CORDIAL study.

Background: There are scarce epidemiological data on cardiovascular risk profile of chronic hemodialysis patients in Brazil.

Objective: The CORDIAL study was designed to evaluate cardiovascular risk factors and follow up a hemodialysis population in a Brazilian metropolitan city.

Methods: All patients undergoing regular hemodialysis for chronic renal failure in all fifteen nephrology centers of Porto Alegre were considered for inclusion in the baseline phase of the CORDIAL study.