The American Heart Association (AHA) has identified a new medical condition called cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, which reflects a strong link between cardiovascular disease (CVD), kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.
The new multisystem heart disease was identified to improve early diagnosis, intervention and treatment for people at high risk of dying from heart disease, the AHA said in an advisory Monday.
One in three adults in the U.S. have three or more risk factors contributing to cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders and/or kidney disease, according to AHA.
“CKM affects nearly every major organ in the body, including the heart, brain, kidney and liver. However, the biggest impact is on the cardiovascular system, affecting blood vessels and heart muscle function, the rate of fatty buildup in arteries, electrical impulses in the heart, and more,” the association said in a news release.
Type 2 diabetes and obesity are the metabolic risk factors of CKM, which are known risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Also, cardiovascular disease is the primary cause of death among people with Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
“We’re seeing the health consequences of all these conditions interacting and leading to earlier presentations with heart disease,” Dr. Chiadi E. Ndumele, the director of obesity and cardiometabolic research in the division of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University and the lead author of the AHA advisory, told NBC.
“Reducing the pipeline of individuals progressing to heart disease is our primary goal,” Ndumele said, adding recognizing the interactions of these overlapping conditions will be “a paradigm change.”
“We now have several therapies that prevent both worsening kidney disease and heart disease. The advisory provides guidance for health care professionals about how and when to use those therapies, and for the medical community and general public about the best ways to prevent and manage CKM syndrome,”…
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