The Vicious Cycle Of CKM Syndrome

About 90% of American adults have never heard of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome—an interconnected health condition that affects nearly 90% of American adults through combinations of heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and poor energy metabolism.

Source: About 9 in 10 haven’t heard of condition that affects nearly 90% of U.S. adults, survey reveals

Why these things go together and why that matters

Our body is a “system of systems”, including:

• a countless number of cells (most of them not human) working together to continually make us us
• ecosystems like our various microbiomes (gut being most talked-about and far-reaching in its effects, but also oral, skin, vaginal, and so forth)
• a very complex interplay of hormones in our endocrine system
• large-scale systems like the nervous systems, circulatory systems, immune systems, etc, and yes those are all in the plural because we categorically have more than one of each
• and more, we could go on all day, depending on how we categorize them

All this means that if one system goes wrong, the others will soon start to have problems, and we really don’t have any systems that are expendable.

So, what happens if one system does start failing?

According to the same American Heart Association poll as gave the “90% of American adults don’t know about this” figure,

• 68% of respondents mistakenly thought the best approach is to manage each condition separately or were unsure
• 42% believed a healthy heart wouldn’t likely be affected by other organs or weren’t sure

However…

As just one example, there’s a two-way relationship between heart and kidneys:

1. The heart pumps blood to the body
2. The metabolic system turns glucose (sugar) from the blood into energy
3. The process of metabolism dumps waste back into the blood
4. The kidneys filter waste from the blood and balance fluids, which helps with blood pressure
5. Blood pressure affects how the heart pumps blood into the body

When this feedback loop goes bad, this is cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

So, what to do about it?

The AHA recommend focusing on 4 specific things; we’ll mention them and in each case share one of our main features about that topic:

1. Healthy blood pressure: Hypertension: Factors Far More Relevant Than Salt
2. Healthy blood sugars: Improve Your Insulin Sensitivity!
3. Healthy cholesterol levels: Lower Cholesterol Naturally
4. Healthy body weight: How To Lose Weight (Healthily!)

For less information, see also the AHA’s press release: Paying attention to four health factors can help prevent CKM syndrome

Want to do more?

Check out:

Are your Kidneys Ok? Detect Early To Protect Kidney Health (Here’s How) ← especially relevant if you are over 60

Take care!