PHARM.D

Higher Risk of AF With Kidney Disease Michael O'Riordan  Individuals with impaired kidney function and those with albuminuria are at a significantly increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation, according to the results of a new study [1]. The new data, from an analysis of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, "suggest that interventions aimed at preventing and treating chronic kidney disease could also contribute to reduce the burden of atrial fibrillation," according to Dr Alvaro Alonso (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis) and colleagues in a report published online June 6, 2011 in Circulation . Previous studies have shown that patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis have a significantly elevated risk of developing atrial fibrillation, but past studies evaluating the association between kidney function and atrial fibrillation have been conflicting, note the authors. In this analysis, researchers estimated the cystatin-C...

ACE-I Lowers the Risk for Renal Disease in Obese Patients Laurie Barclay, MD Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition with the drug ramipril reduced the rate of renal events among patients with proteinuria in all body mass index (BMI) strata, but the effect was greater among obese patients, according to the results of a post hoc analysis published online April 28 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology . "Obese patients with kidney disease progress more quickly towards renal failure compared to non-obese patients, and ramipril virtually abolishes this excess risk," senior author Carmine Zoccali, MD, from Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biomedicina e di Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy," Palermo, and Ospedali Riuniti di Reggio Calabria in Italy, said in a news release. The aim of this post hoc analysis of the Ramipril Efficacy In Nephropathy (REIN) trial was to determine the effect of being overweight or obese on the inci...