['Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have increased risk of cardiovascular disease to which co-morbidity and associated conventional risk factors contribute. We hypothesised that arterial stiffness (AS) and endothelial dysfunction (ED), as surrogates of cardiovascular risk, would worsen as renal function declined even in patients without co-morbidity and that this would relate to emerging cardiovascular risk factors.', 'Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), as a measure of AS, and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery, as a measure of ED, were assessed in CKD patients without established cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus.', 'PWV increased linearly as renal function declined (r(2) = 0.08, p < 0.01) whereas FMD was reduced only in patients with advanced kidney disease. In multivariable analysis, blood pressure was the major determinant of PWV and FMD. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and asymmetric dimethylarginine, and isoprostanes and endothelin-1, were independent predictors of PWV and FMD, respectively. However, renal function did not independently predict either AS or ED.'] Is blood pressure and not uraemia the major determinant of arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease and minimal co-morbidity?