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Chronic Kidney Disease as a Coronary Heart Disease Risk Equivalent

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Abstract

Tailoring therapeutic targets to patients’ risk is a fundamental principle of many coronary heart disease (CHD) treatment guidelines. Although the National Cholesterol Education Program’s guidelines do not include chronic kidney disease (CKD) as a CHD risk equivalent, the National Kidney Foundation and American Heart Association have recommended its inclusion in the highest-risk grouping for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. In three population-based studies, the risk of cardiovascular disease was higher among participants with established CHD when compared to their counterparts with CKD. Although there are other reasons for including CKD as a CHD risk equivalent in treatment guidelines (eg, higher case fatality rates from CHD and stroke), the inclusion of CKD as a CHD risk equivalent has treatment implications for a large number of US adults. Randomized trials assessing the benefits and drawbacks of aggressive CHD risk reduction among patients with CKD are needed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1655 University Boulevard, Suite 220, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Paul Muntner

  2. Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Paul Muntner

  3. Cardiovascular Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Michael E. Farkouh

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  1. Paul Muntner
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  2. Michael E. Farkouh
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Correspondence to Paul Muntner.

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Muntner, P., Farkouh, M.E. Chronic Kidney Disease as a Coronary Heart Disease Risk Equivalent. Curr Cardio Risk Rep 4, 136–141 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-010-0088-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-010-0088-6

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