Could night-time dialysis protect the heart in people with kidney failure?

NIGHTLIFE-CMR: A cardiac MRI sub-study Investigating the impact of in-centre nocturnal haemodialysis on cardiac structure and function

This Leicester team is testing whether slowing down kidney dialysis reduces damage to patients’ hearts. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people with kidney failure on dialysis. To stay alive, patients on dialysis have their blood cleaned by a machine three times a week for four hours each. While this is a life-saving treatment, having kidney failure and being on dialysis can lead scarring in the heart. This can build up over time, causing the heart to fail. The speed at which dialysis is done (over four hours), and the need to remove water quickly from patients during the treatment, are the major reasons why scarring in the heart builds up so quickly. This study will test a new dialysis regime, which look at whether dialysing over six to eight hours, overnight while the person is in bed, could reduce the level of scarring. Heart damage will be measured by MRI scans, with night time dialysis compared to standard daytime dialysis. The researchers hope that slower dialysis will slow or even reverse the heart scarring, and improve survival. Another benefit will be that people’s days are free, which may help them to return to a more normal life.