Objective This study assessed the variety and frequency of various cardiovascular events in different stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients who were hospitalized due to different causes. Methods This prospective cross-sectional observational analysis was conducted at the Department of Nephrology in The Kidney Centre Post Graduate Training Institute Karachi on all adult CKD (of all stages with or without dialysis) patients, who developed cardiovascular events during their hospital admission either in ward or ICU due to any cause between August 2020 and February 2021. Total of 765 patients got admitted in the given time period and among them, 290 patients developed various cardiovascular events. Baseline data, co-morbidities, clinical features, drug history and management were determined. Results There were a total of 290 patients in our study in which 154 (53.1%) were male and 136(46.9%) were female. Mean age was 57 ± 15.5. Our majority of patients were end-stage renal disease and on maintenance hemodialysis (n=119, 41%) while the most prevalent co-morbid condition was hypertension (n=227, 78.3%) followed by diabetes mellitus (n=204, 70.4%). The most frequent cardiovascular events in CKD patients was the atrial fibrillation 101(34.8%) while 37(12.8%) patients suffered ST-elevation myocardial infarction and supraventricular tachycardia. Patients who had high potassium levels (>5.2) most frequently suffered from atrial fibrillation (n=16, 28.1%) as compared to other cardiovascular events. Conclusion Patients with CKD are at increased risk of having several cardiovascular events. Numerous risk factors involved in the pathogenesis. Among the diverse causes, fluctuations in serum levels of various electrolytes are important causes as certain electrolytes disbalance can trigger various life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias.
Keywords: atrial fibrillation; cardiovascular disease; cardiovascular events; chronic kidney disease; hyperkalemia; supraventricular tachycardia.
Copyright © 2021, Jabbar et al.