The challenge of cardiovascular risk assessment in Chronic Kidney Disease; is there a role for CTA and FFRCT?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a significantly elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, with patients with CKD stage 5 (eGFR <15mL/min/1.73 m2) having a more than three-fold risk of cardiovascular mortality than those without CKD.1 This is due to a combination of shared risk factors between the two disorders and CKD itself being associated with an acceleration of atherosclerosis and cardiomyopathy. Kidney transplantation restores kidney function in patients with kidney failure, yet patients remain at elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, with this elevated risk particularly pronounced in the 3 months post transplantation.