[Risk factors for renal disease in cardiac patients]

There are interconnections between the kidney, which regulates the extracellular volume, and the heart, which regulates the systemic circulation. In normal and minor pathological conditions or in those with a slow onset, a self-regulatory mechanism between the two systems is created in our organism to maintain a balance that permits good survival. In acute or severe pathological conditions, this reciprocal correlation between the two systems may fail, creating situations where it is necessary to intervene rapidly to bring the organism back to a condition of balance compatible with life. Moreover, many disorders, such as acute or chronic inflammation of the endothelium, vascular alteration processes of metabolic origin, arteriosclerosis, and vascular calcifications, involve both the cardiocirculatory system and the kidney. Therefore, the cardiologist often has to treat cardiac patients who, besides their cardiocirculatory problems, present kidney involvement, a situation which significantly complicates patient management and may increase the mortality.