In October of 2023, the American Heart Association (AHA) published a scientific statement and advisory that defined a novel entity, the Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) Syndrome.1,2 The overall framework proposes that a substantial proportion of cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden is attributable to a syndrome that extends in stages from: Stage 1) obesity, Stage 2) metabolic/kidney risk factors for CVD (diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease (CKD), hypertension, and dyslipidemia), Stage 3) subclinical CVD, and finally Stage 4) clinical CVD. The report that describes the CKM paradigm documents the scientific justification for a syndrome, highlights the overlap in risk factors among individuals with obesity, diabetes, CKD, and CVD, and aligns the evidence and guideline statements that address screening, prevention, and management of these conditions. Overall, the CKM Syndrome is an aspirational framework that pulls from a wide body of literature and disease-specific guidelines with an overall, shared goal of reducing CVD at a population level. But, for clinicians at the front lines of CVD prevention, those of us in primary care, will the new syndrome enhance or complicate our practice?
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