STAT News: Chronic Kidney Disease Raises Risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Among Latinos

STAT News recently interviewed Kyndaron Reinier, PhD, associate director of Epidemiology in the Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention at the Smidt Heart Institute, and Sumeet Chugh, MD, the center’s director, about a new study finding that Latinos with chronic kidney disease are at significant risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

The study was the first to explore risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest—when the heart unexpectedly stops beating—among Latino people in the U.S.

Reinier, the study’s lead author, told STAT News that Latino people have not historically been well-represented in cardiovascular research.

“Sudden cardiac arrest is a major cause of death, yet little is known about the risk factors … among Hispanic and Latino individuals, who make up about 19% of the U.S. population,” Reinier said.

Chugh, a professor of Cardiology and one of the study’s investigators, told STAT News that it is not yet clear why patients with chronic kidney disease have an increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

“While more research needs to be done, it is possible that dialysis treatment, which is used in severe or end-stage [chronic kidney disease], could be associated with increased risk of lethal arrhythmias resulting in [sudden cardiac arrest],” Chugh said. “It turns out that even moderate [sudden cardiac arrest] could increase … risk, but the mechanisms by which this happens have not been determined yet.”

Chugh added that inadequate access to healthcare among Latino patients also could contribute to the disparity. 

Click here to read the complete article from STAT News.