Heart Troubles May Indicate Signs of Future Kidney Disease

Certain amounts of calcium buildup found in the coronary arteries may predict future risk of kidney disease, according to recent findings published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Researchers found that certain conventional risk factors could greatly raise the possibility of this health issue. As heart disease also remains the leading cause of death in people with chronic kidney disease, previous studies have shown that predicting an individual's likelihood of developing heart disease isn't as useful in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients as they are in general population.

For the study, researchers looked to see if calcium measurements within blood vessel walls could help determine risk factors. They found that calcium build-up in the coronary artery walls was more useful for correctly determining CKD patients' risk of cardiovascular issues than other measures, such as atherosclerosis, which measures the thickness of the carotid artery walls and narrowing in the legs.

"Our research is important since it assures the usefulness of coronary artery calcium for better cardiovascular disease prediction in persons with CKD, a population at high risk for cardiovascular disease but with potential caveats for the use of traditional risk factors," said lead researcher Kunihiro Matsushita, MD, PhD at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.