(Photo: by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images) Cardiovascular surgeons Susana Villar (R) and Juan Esteban de Villarreal (L) perform a heart transplant at an operating theatre in Puerta de Hierro University Hospital in Majadahonda, near Madrid.
A new medical illness is being recognized by the American Heart Association as a result of the close connections between obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and renal disease.
The cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, or CKM, is a disorder that should be recognized in order to help those who are at a high risk of dying from cardiovascular disease receive an earlier diagnosis and treatment.
More research is demonstrating the detrimental effects of metabolic risk factors on various body organs, including belly obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar, according to NBC News.
Cardiologist Dr. Pam R. Taub concurred that the new strategy may completely alter how medical professionals manage their patients.
According to Taub, a professor of medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, the development of new medications to treat conditions like kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity that are a part of the syndrome has decreased cardiovascular events and given doctors new insights into the relationship between the various organs.
Taub remarked, "It's been eye-opening. CKM considers "what I call organ cross-talk, in which they are interacting with each other very intricately in the body."
For instance, a urine sample from a patient can reveal early kidney illness. The medications you can give the patient will stop them from developing chronic renal disease, which is why this is crucial, she said.
The general consensus, according to Taub, is that by examining all of the organs at once, "you can detect disease early and you're going to prevent bad cardiovascular outcomes, like heart failure, heart attacks, and stroke."
Fortunately, if the newly identified illness is identified early on and treated, affected individuals can recover.
CKM-Related Screening
In the United States, 1 in 3 persons had three or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and/or kidney disease, according to the American Heart Association's 2023 Statistical Update. Nearly all of the body's major organs, including the heart, brain, kidneys, and liver, are affected by CKM. However, the cardiovascular system is the one that is most significantly impacted, with effects on electrical impulses in the heart, the rate of fatty deposition in arteries, blood vessels, heart muscle functions, and more.
The purpose of CKM-related screening is to identify social and structural care barriers, detect cardiovascular, metabolic, and kidney health problems early, and stop the progression of CKM syndrome to a later stage.
The advisory discusses adult care. However, research indicates that CKM syndrome starts early in life and progresses. The advice follows the American Academy of Pediatrics's advice that children and adolescents should begin having annual evaluations of their weight, blood pressure, and mental and behavioral health from the age of three.
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