Sympatholysis in Chronic Kidney Disease

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) suffer from exercise intolerance and poor physical capacity which contributes to increased cardiovascular risk in this patient population. Prior studies have shown that CKD patients have an exaggerated increase in blood pressure (BP) during both static and rhythmic exercise. Such abnormal hemodynamic responses to exercise can contribute to poor physical capacity and abnormal muscle blood flow during exercise in these patients. The goals of this project are to investigate the mechanisms and potential therapies targeting the abnormal hemodynamic response during exercise in CKD by examining the roles of impaired vasodilation, and exaggerated vasoconstriction.