Research by medical professionals at Gandhi Medical College (GMC) in Hyderabad has revealed that persons suffering from end stage renal disease are prone to sudden cardiac arrests.

According to nephrologists at a global alumni meet on the 61st anniversary of Gandhi Medical College, patients suffering from chronic kidney disease develop resistance to hypertension drugs, have lower potassium levels and also face sudden cardiac arrest.

Says Dr. Pradeep Deshpande, professor of nephrology at Gandhi Medical College, “In our recent assessment of various cases related to renal disease, it is observed that cardiac diseases are an independent factor for kidney problems and vice versa. This means that patients who are suffering from kidney problems must also be referred to cardiologist and there must be a joint intervention in treating them. This has come to light because of the recurrent cases of patients, who are on dialysis or suffering from chronic kidney failure, or are having a sudden heart attack or even a silent attack and dying. These are preventable if the treatment goes together with kidney treatment.”

As per medical statistics, every year there are over 3 lakh kidney cases reported across various hospitals in the country. While participating in the teleconference at the 61st GMC alumni meet, leading doctors and nephrologists graduated from GMC and settled in different parts of the world also stressed that chronic kidney patients must also be attended to both by nephrologists and cardiologists.

According to case studies conducted by various medical professionals during the past two decades, it has been revealed that patients, who are at end-stage renal failure, suffer from cardiac arrhythmia or irregular heart beat. The nephrologists and cardiologists felt that such patients must be diagnosed early and treated in advance so that sudden death due to cardiac arrests can be prevented.

Explaining about the treatment procedure for patients suffering from end stage renal disease, Dr. P. Sharma said, “While treating the kidney patients, the doctors must also look into the potassium levels and protein urea of these patients. These are independent risk factors and if they are diagnosed well in time, then the life of the patients can be saved.”

Medical experts are further advocating that there is a need for further research to evolve better approaches and treatment methodologies for treating such patients.