End-stage renal disease patients are at high risk for major adverse cardiovascular events including premature all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Over the past decade, there has been growing evidence for chronic kidney disease (CKD) as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease [ ]. CKD not yet requiring renal replacement therapy is generally defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 and/or evidence of structural kidney damage. Based on this definition, it is estimated that more than 20 million adults have CKD stages III-IV, a substantially larger number compared to the number of patients with end-stage renal disease. Furthermore, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with CKD [ ].