Association Between Cardiovascular Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease Prevalence and Characteristics in Saudi Arabia

Ahmed A Elheet; Mohammed A Alosaimi; Waad A Alalawi; Awadh A Alasmari; Aeshah Alharbi; Lama Alhumaidan; Reuof S Alosaimi; Riyadh A Alharthi; Hameedullah M Kazim

doi:10.7759/cureus.50205

Association Between Cardiovascular Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease Prevalence and Characteristics in Saudi Arabia

Cureus. 2023 Dec 8;15(12):e50205. doi: 10.7759/cureus.50205. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Ahmed A Elheet¹, Mohammed A Alosaimi², Waad A Alalawi², Awadh A Alasmari², Aeshah Alharbi³, Lama Alhumaidan³, Reuof S Alosaimi⁴, Riyadh A Alharthi⁵, Hameedullah M Kazim¹

Affiliations

¹ Cardiology Department, Alhada Armed Forces Hospital, Taif, SAU.
² College of Medicine, Taif University, Taif, SAU.
³ College of Medicine, Unaizah College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Unaizah, SAU.
⁴ College of Medicine, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, SAU.
⁵ Cardiac Surgery, King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital, Taif, SAU.

Abstract

Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary artery disease (CAD), is a leading global cause of death. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant risk factor, particularly in data-scarce Saudi Arabia, due to shared risk factors. A study aims to assess the CVD-CKD relationship, identifying clinical characteristics and risk factors to improve prevention and care in this context, filling a knowledge gap in Saudi Arabia's healthcare map. Methodology It is a single-center retrospective study aimed at evaluating the relationship between cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, conducted between January 2023 and October 2023. Data was sourced from patient files using a data sheet based on a previous study. The data was cleaned in MS Excel (Redmond, USA) and analyzed in IBM Corp. Released 2022. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 29.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Results Our study contains predominantly males (61%), aged 61-80 (54.1%), with a normal body mass index (BMI) (<25) (61.5%) and a high prevalence of smoking (72.3%). Diabetes, hypertension, and smoking were prevalent risk factors. The relationship between CAD severity, renal dysfunction, and ejection fraction (EF) was explored, emphasizing the association between declining renal function and more advanced CAD stages, as well as the decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with decreasing EF. Age, smoking, CAD, and decreasing EF were linked to renal dysfunction, while smoking, stroke history, peripheral vascular disease (PVD), BMI, and decreasing EF were associated with CAD stage severity. Conclusion Our study explored that as CAD severity increases, renal function decreases, showing both CVD and CKD connected with each other, and a similar correlation occurs between decreasing EF and decreasing eGFR, revealing significant associations with various risk factors. Further research is warranted to explore potential interventions aimed at mitigating the synergistic impact of CVD and CKD on patient morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: association; cardiovascular disease; chronic kidney disease; ejection fraction; estimated glomerular filtration rate.