VIDEO: Relationship between hyperphosphatemia, cardiovascular conditions

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I think the clinicians should really be in a position to emphasize the importance of controlling high levels of phosphorus in blood. They should know that this is an important risk factor for mortality and it's even a strong risk factor for morbidity and it causes and is associated with diseases of the heart and blood vessels and it accelerates and facilitates calcification in the blood vessels, which in turn is bad for whatever blood vessel, whatever organs and tissues that blood vessel is supplying with blood. So I think you have to start with the understanding that this is a very serious problem and it deserves a great effort and it's important to be able to get the patients on board with that, so that they try their hardest to do what they can to limit it in blood. In a general way in medicine, it's hard for patients to take really seriously something that they don't feel better, or worse if they take the medicine. They don't think they have a problem, then why are they taking all this medicine and taking all the medicine doesn't make them feel any better. So, they need to understand that this is a long-term thing and it has to be controlled to prevent problems in the future. And I think that's hard for both the clinicians and the patients to understand and to try to get on board with all of the strategies that we have to try to control the problem.