AHA and ACC released a new cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome guideline that replaces their 2013 obesity guidance and pushes earlier, integrated care across obesity, diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease.
The framework stages CKM syndrome from 0 to 4, from no risk factors to clinical cardiovascular disease, to help clinicians track progression or regression and intervene before major cardiac events.
For patients without cardiovascular disease, the guideline pairs staging with PREVENT risk equations: a 10-year CVD risk of 20% or more counts as stage 3 equivalent, while 7.5% or more supports prioritizing GLP-1 and SGLT2 therapies.
It also calls for routine metabolic and kidney screening, assessment of social determinants of health, and interdisciplinary teams with a designated CKM point person to coordinate lifestyle, drug and surgical treatment.