Kidney Disease May Be Associated with New Metabolic Risk Factors for Heart Disease
Traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) include high blood pressure, diabetes and abnormal cholesterol levels. So-called newer or non-traditional risk factors include abnormal levels of several substances in the blood that indicate inflammation. A new study of data from a large national health study compared levels of these substances in groups of people with normal kidneys, mild chronic kidney disease or severe kidney disease. The authors found that the newer CVD risk factors occurred frequently in the two groups with kidney disease. Since the death rate from CVD is 10 to 20 times higher among patients with severe kidney disease than in those with normal kidneys, treating the new risk factors in people with kidney disease might lesson chances for developing heart disease. An editorial writer says, "(W)e don't know which if any, nontraditional risk factors account for the enormous risk for heart disease in patients with chronic kidney disease" but "aggressive management of traditional risk factors is a sensible, albeit largely unproven, strategy to prevent CVD in patient with chronic kidney disease." (Editorial, p. 60.)
Malpractice Reform Must Include Steps to Prevent Medical Injury
(Perspective, p.51)
Annals of Internal Medicine is published by the American College of Physicians, an organization of more than 115,000 internal medicine physicians and medical students. These highlights are not intended to substitute for articles as sources of information. For an embargoed fax of an article, call 1-800-523-1546, ext. 2656, or 215-351-2656.
Annals of Internal Medicine