Character and frequency of cardiorenal multimorbidity in hospitalized cardiology patients

Objective: To study the prevalence, structure, and clinical-laboratory characteristics of cardiorenal-metabolic multimorbidity in hospitalized cardiology patients. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted involving 780 patients hospitalized in a cardiology department. A detailed analysis was performed of demographic indicators, anthropometric data, lifestyle factors, comorbidity structure (with emphasis on chronic heart failure - CHF, atrial fibrillation - AF, diabetes mellitus - DM, chronic kidney disease - CKD), and laboratory parameters. Results: The average age of patients was 63.5±14.4 years, 70.4% of them were men, among whom the majority were overweight and obese (75%). The most frequent modifiable risk factors were physical inactivity (82.4%), alcohol consumption (27.1%), and smoking (20.9%). In the comorbidity structure, arterial hypertension (69.6%), CHF (38.1%), DM (33.8%), AF (29.6%), and CKD (26.5%) were the most common. The mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 56.2±26.5 mL/min/1.73 m2. Two or more diseases from the studied continuum (CHF, DM, AF, CKD) were present in 38.3% of patients. The most frequent paired association was the combination of CHF and AF (21.2%). Furthermore, patients with CHF had a significantly higher prevalence of either type 2 diabetes (DM2) or CKD. At the same time, all four conditions (CHF, DM, AF, and CKD) were simultaneously identified in 4.4% of the examined patients. Conclusion: A high burden of cardiorenal-metabolic multimorbidity was identified in hospitalized cardiac patients: more than a third of those examined (38.3%) were diagnosed with two or more key diseases (CHF, DM, AF, CKD), forming a vicious circle of mutual aggravation.