Tag Archives: cardiorenal medicine

Table 1. The cardiorenal syndromes Type Denomination Description 1 Acute cardiorenal syndrome Sudden worsening of heart function leading to acute kidney injury 2 Chronic cardiorenal syndrome Chronically abnormal heart function leading to chronic kidney disease 3 Acute renocardiac syndrome Acute kidney injury leading to acute heart function abnormalities 4 Chronic renocardiac syndrome Chronic kidney disease contributing to abnormal heart function, left ventricular hypertrophy and increased risk of cardiovascular events 5 Secondary cardiorenal syndrome Systemic disease (e.g. amyloidosis) leading to both heart and kidney dysfunct

Notably work conducted by nephrologist Dr Daniel Batlle, (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Chicago, Illinois) and co-authors,1 who – having reviewed two recent studies from China – hypothesise it is conceivable that the hypercoagulable state that appears to be a characteristic complication of severe COVID-19 could, in some cases, foster the evolution of acute tubular necrosis to cortical necrosis and, therefore, irreversible kidney failure. The effects of coronavirus on the kidneys are also reviewed in a comprehensive editorial in Kidney International2 which suggests, that altho

Targeting uric acid Dr Richard Crawley (Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust) The conference’s keynote lecture, delivered by Professor Austin Stack (University Hospital, Limerick, Ireland), homed in on the idea that serum uric acid directly contributes to increased cardiovascular disease. This was shown in his team’s work published in 2013,1 which used retrospective data to identify a direct correlation between raised serum uric acid concentrations and increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This, therefore, begs two questions: Firstly, does uric acid directly cause vascular endothelial damage, contributing to acute renal dysfunct

Acute heart failure The first of the clinical heart failure sessions, delivered by Professor Theresa McDonagh (King’s College Hospital, London), considered the definition of acute heart failure (AHF) and how this has been simplified over recent years from a minefield of overlapping statements set out in 2008. Acute hypertensive heart failure, acutely decompensated chronic heart failure, acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and heart failure, right heart failure – amongst other terminology – have now been categorised into: ‘puffers’ – pulmonary oedema, fluid distribution error and ‘bloaters’ – peripheral oedema with genuine fluid

ESC backs regulations for medical devices The European Society of Cardiology has said in a position paper that it welcomes the European Commission’s (EC) proposals for a new Regulation to govern the evaluation and approval of medical devices in Europe as an important step towards improving patient safety. The EC proposal document is available at http://ec.europa.eu/health/medical-devices/documents/revision/index_en.htm New risk analysis scoring system A new risk scoring system, based on the SMART study, allows doctors to determine more accurately the risk of cardiovascular disease patients developing a new event, such as heart attack or str