Cardiorenal continuum

Abstract

Atherosclerosis underlies the vast majority of vascular conditions that are a leading cause of death and serious morbidity or disabilities worldwide. Cardiovascular events rarely occur in patients without underlying disease; rather, they typically take place as the final stage of a pathophysiological process that results in progressive vascular damage, including vital organ damage-specifically, the kidney and the heart. A large percentage of patients attended at the clinic and admitted to hospital have various degrees of heart and kidney dysfunction. Disorders affecting one of them mostly involve the other. Such interactions represent the pathogenesis for a clinical condition called cardiorenal syndrome. Renal and cardiovascular diseases share the same etiopathogenic risk factors. If these factors are controlled, then atherosclerotic process evolution and further target-organ damage or cardiovascular events can be prevented. As the cardiorenal process advances, atherosclerotic vascular damage progresses, and subclinical organ damage can be detected. Chronic kidney disease is included at this stage, and a number of conditions associated with renal dysfunction become novel risk factors that may accelerate vascular damage © 2010 Springer-Verlag Milan.