Blood pressure variability (BPV) refers to the fluctuations of blood pressure in a certain period of time. In recent years, BPV is becoming a predictive marker for cardiovascular events. Given the hemodynamic and internal environmental change brought by hemodialysis as well as the complex complications, hemodialysis patients always have complex BPV. Nowadays there is no consensus on an optimal standard to evaluate BPV in hemodialysis population. Metrics usually used are as follows: blood pressure change during a certain period of time, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, variation independent of mean, average real variability, weighted mean of daytime and night-time standard deviation, residual derived from generalized linear models, and residual standard deviation. Impact factors of BPV in hemodialysis patients include age, ultrafitration volume, hemodialysis frequency and time length, peripheral vascular disease, serum calcium, antihypertensive drugs and so on. Recent studies showed significant associations between both long-term and short-term BPV with prognosis of hemodialysis patients. This review focuses on the evaluation methods, the influencing factors and the impact on prognosis of BPV.
