Developing cardiovascular risk prediction scores for people with kidney disease

Cardiovascular risk and risk prediction for all stages of chronic kidney disease: a British-Dutch collaboration

BHF Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellow Dr Nynke Halbesma is looking for ways to detect people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are at higher risk of heart disease or stroke. People with CKD have a much higher risk of developing heart and circulatory disease even at an early stage. But doctors may be missing opportunities to reduce this risk, partly because we don’t understand why cardiovascular disease is more common in CKD and how best to prevent it. In this project Dr Halbesma will use data that is already available from studies of patients with kidney disease in the UK and the Netherlands to learn more about the different types of heart and circulatory diseases present at different stages of CKD. She will study how risk factors at each stage, such as age and sex, affect heart disease development. These findings will help her to develop a predictive ‘risk score’ clinical tool to identify patients with kidney disease who are at high risk of heart disease or stroke. This research tool will help doctors ensure people with kidney disease receive the best preventative treatments to improve their life expectancy and quality of life.