[Renal function in heart failure patients. Prognostic influence and therapeutic implications]

A close relationship has been described between renal function and cardiovascular risk; renal dysfunction promotes cardiovascular disease and the different vascular diseases increase the risk of renal failure. Pathogenetic mechanisms common to both processes could justify this parallelism. These relationships are must closer in heart failure. We have carried out a recent literature review in which we describe the epidemiological and clinical situation of renal failure in patients with heart failure, as well as the diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic implications. There is an increased prevalence of renal failure in patients with heart failure (with depressed ejection fraction as well as normal). This is accompanied by a greater clinical and diagnostic complexity, independently increases the risk of death and complications during follow up. It also has therapeutic implications, since in this group of patients the drugs that block the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system have a particular prognostic benefit although strict clinical control must be followed. Renal failure in patients with heart failure is highly prevalent and has extremely significant clinical and therapeutic implications.