<qa>  What is the leading cause of mortality in CRF?Premature cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in CRF accounting for approximately 60 of deaths. Across the age range, cardiovascular mortality is 10 and 20 times greater than controls but in young patients the relative risk is extreme. Dialysis patients under the age of 45 have over 100 times the risk of cardiovascular death than the control population. An increased risk is also present in patients with mild renal impairment, which has been estimated to occur in approximately 8 of the population. Thus, renal dysfunction is a potentially important risk factor for coronary artery disease in the general population. This study builds upon previous and current BHF funded work by Dr Townend and colleagues in Birmingham PG97162 and PG02153 which has resulted in a number of publications in the area of cardiovascular disease in renal failure but takes a new approach examining the potential role of aldosterone in renal vasculopathy. 