Unhealthy kidney plays havoc with heart health

The theme of World Heart Day this year is ‘One World, One Home, and One Heart,’ on September 29, states the need of taking good care of our heart, as it is the most important organ of our body.But it is equally important to note that in our body the heart does not function in isolation.So to take good care of one’s heart it is important to keep a check on overall health.Not only cardiologists, but nephrologists today support the fact that a problem with your kidney can speed up your journey towards heart ailments.The theme of World Heart Day this year is a wake-up call for everyone because kidney problems represent one of the leading causes of cardiac disorders and deaths due to cardiac ailments.Agrees Dr Arun KN, Chief Nephrologist, Mallya Hospital, Bangalore, “More than 50 per cent of the people who are suffering from chronic kidney diseases (CKD) have associated it to cardiac ailments.When our kidneys don’t work properly, waste products get accumulated in our blood, hence disturbing the internal environment of the body.This in turn affects proper functioning of heart and blood vessels.Thus, early diagnosis and awareness among people with high blood pressure and diabetes are key measures to identify kidney-related diseases, and ultimately keeping a check on heart ailments.” With the progression in the stages of kidney disease, cardiovascular disease starts playing its sway.One of the major causes of heart disease in CKD patients is the imbalance between calcium and phosphate levels in the body.Phosphate binders are given to the patients but these are calcium based binders leading to a further imbalance of calcium and phosphate level in the body.The end result of such imbalance is cardiac and vascular calcification that leads to heart disease.Says Dr Gokulnath, Professor and Head of the Department, Nephrology,St John’s Hospital, Bangalore “A patient with (CKD) has ten times higher risk of coronary artery disease and premature death compared to general population.Contrary to common belief many patients of CKD may not even reach dialysis, but would succumb to coronary artery disease much earlier.Hence it is imperative that CKD patients undergo a screening for heart disease at the early stages of chronic kidney disease .” It is important to encourage simple health screening tests such as urine and blood tests.Early diagnosis and treatment not only halt the progression to end stage renal disease, but it can also reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease which is the most common cause of premature death worldwide.