Apparatus and method for preventing hypotension in a dialysis patient

A hemodialysis system for providing hemodialysis to a patient comprising:

• means for removing through the use of a dialysate, that includes an amount of sodium, metabolic waste from a patient's blood stream;
• means for increasing in the dialysate the amount of sodium in response to a signal;
• and
• means for allowing the patient or healthcare practitioner to generate the signal wherein the signal is generated by the patient or the healthcare personnel actuating a button on a controller extending from a hemodialysis machine.

A method for preventing hypotension in a patient receiving hemodialysis comprising the steps of:

• providing a means for generating a signal;
• automatically delivering to the patient, through a dialyzer, sodium in response to a signal generated by the patient or other person;
• entering into a delivery system, for delivering sodium to the dialysate, a patient's standard dialyzer clearance at a given blood and dialysate flow rate and the patient's sodium concentration and blood flow;
• calculating the mass transfer area coefficient for the dialyzer;
• and
• automatically, through the system, determined the total number of milliequivalents that will be required by the patient to remove hypotension.

A method of providing hemodialysis to a patient comprising the steps of:

• passing, at least a portion of, a patient's blood through a dialyzer that uses a dialysate, that includes an amount of sodium, to remove metabolic waste from the blood;
• and
• automatically increasing the amount of sodium in the dialysate in response to a signal generated by the patient or healthcare personnel;
• entering into a delivery system, for delivering sodium to the dialysate, a patient's standard dialyzer clearance at a given blood and dialysate flow rate and the patient's sodium concentration and blood flow;
• calculating the mass transfer area coefficient for the dialyzer;
• and
• automatically, through the system, determining the total number of milliequivalents that will be required by the patient to prevent hypotension.