Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists in End Stage Renal Disease

End stage renal disease (ESRD) patients exhibit an extraordinarily high annual mortality. Cardiovascular (CV) causes account for almost half of all-cause mortality. Increased left ventricular mass (LVM) is a common finding in ESRD patients on dialysis and is an independent predictor of survival. Yet, to date there is no established medical treatment to reduce CV morbidity and mortality in ESRD patients on hemodialysis. Blockade of aldosterone action by means of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA) provides cardioprotection and improves outcome in heart failure patients. Furthermore, the MRA spironolactone has recently been shown to reduce LVM in patients with mild-to-moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD). The investigators here hypothesize that spironolactone treatment is cardioprotective by reducing LVM in ESRD patients on dialysis.