What is the link between cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease?
It is an established fact that patients with chronic kidney disease also risk cardiovascular disease.
How and when is cardiovascular disease established?
Cardiovascular disease is often present in people with renal failure or chronic kidney disease, in all age groups and also at any stage of the disease.
Cardiovascular disease can alter the functions of the heart and blood vessels, causing disorders and undermining people’s health status.
If the oxygen supply is not constant, the consequences for organs can be severe or fatal.
But what are the conditions that can be defined as heart disease ?
- Coronary artery disease, which affects the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. If these arteries stop working and the blood flow remains to the heart, you can be stricken. Another obvious sign of coronary artery disease is chest pain also called angina.
- Heart Attack, which can occur if a coronary artery that supplies blood and oxygen to a part of the heart muscle becomes blocked. In the absence of oxygen this section can gradually go into necrosis giving a strong feeling of pressure and pain in the chest.
The portion of dead heart muscle is thus replaced by scar tissue. - Heart failure, when the heart has weakened and is no longer able to pump blood and send it throughout the body. If this occurs then the patient enters a condition of heart failure.
And what heart disease can affect those with kidney disease?
- Atherosclerosis, a disease that is established when arteries become clogged by cholesterol plaque, which is a buildup of fat and calcium that can result in a condition called atherosclerosis.
When these deposits spread along the walls of the artery, they make it less flexible by tightening the space useful for the passage of blood flow. If the plaque then not only invades the walls of the artery but also goes on to completely obstruct the flow, a heart attack or even a stroke can occur. - Highblood pressure or hypertension, i.e., high blood pressure is a condition in which blood, pumped by the heart, overflows through the arteries at a higher pressure.
When this condition occurs, the arteries can become altered or weakened to the point of causing very risky situations such as a heart attack or stroke.
