Heart Failure Raises Kidney Failure Risk in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Patients

Recurrent interim heart failure is associated with a stepwise increase in the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and death before ESRD in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), researchers reported online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

In a retrospective study of 2,887 CKD patients, David Naimark, MD, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues found that compared with patients with no heart failure hospitalizations, those who had 1, 2, or 3 or more heart failure hospitalizations had a 4.9-, 10-, and 14-fold increased risk of ESRD, respectively, and a 3.3-, 4.2-, and 6.9-fold increased risk of death before ESRD, respectively, in adjusted analyses.

Over a median follow-up period of 3 years, interim heart failure hospitalizations occurred in 359 patients (12%), ESRD developed in 234 (8%), and 499 (17%) died before ESRD.

From the October 01, 2014 Issue of Renal and Urology News