Intensive dialysis and blood pressure control: a review.

The prevalence of hypertension in hemodialysis (HD) patients has increased over the years. In the early days of maintenance HD blood pressure (BP) control was achieved in most patients. As sessions were shortened, the prevalence of hypertension increased.

The neglect of sodium restriction in dialysis patients: a short review.

In end-stage renal failure, natriuresis decreases, sodium accumulates, and extracellular volume (ECV) excess develops. In 1962, Scribner, reporting about the first maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patient, observed that ECV control using a low-salt diet and ultrafiltration led to blood pressure (BP) normalization. Thus, the concept of dry weight, the ideal postdialysis weight allowing for a stable normal BP, was born.