Glomerular Diseases Patients Face Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Conditions

Adults with glomerular diseases that affect the kidney's filtering units face a high risk of developing heart problems, reports a new study. The findings of the study are presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020.// Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and death in adults with decreased kidney function. To define the heart disease risk of patients with glomerular diseases, including focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, and minimal change disease, researchers examined 2000-2012 information from a centralized kidney pathology registry in British Columbia, Canada.

Among 1,912 patients followed for a median of 6.8 years, there were 338 cardiovascular events. The 10-year risk was 16.0 percent (7.7 percent for IgA nephropathy, 13.2 percent for minimal change disease, 19.4 percent for membranous nephropathy, and 27.0 percent for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis). Results revealed cardiovascular event rates were high both before and after end-stage kidney failure.

The risk of heart disease was 2.5-times higher in people with glomerular diseases than adults in the general population.

"Consideration of glomerular disease-specific factors can help enhance cardiovascular risk prediction. Failure to take these unique factors into account will lead to underestimation of heart disease risk and underutilization of cardiovascular primary prevention strategies," stated lead author Heather Gunnin.

"Further investigation is ongoing into the impact of glomerular disease activity and therapy overtime on cardiovascular risk. This will allow a better understanding of the influence of glomerular disease on heart disease risk and whether treatment may modify this.."

Source-Medindia