TUESDAY, June 16, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Recommendations are presented for the management of patients with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome in a guideline issued by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines and published online June 9 in Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Chiadi E. Ndumele, M.D., Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a comprehensive literature review to replace and expand upon the 2013 guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in adults, intended for clinicians who care for patients across the spectrum of CKM syndrome.
The authors noted that to prevent CKM stage progression, tailor therapy to absolute risk, reduce cardiovascular events and loss of kidney function, and promote CKM stage regression through lifestyle changes and weight loss, CKM syndrome staging is recommended for youth and adults. Individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease (CKM syndrome stage 0 to 3) should have their risk quantified with the Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease EVENTS (PREVENT) equations. For all adults, routine assessments are recommended for metabolic risk factors and kidney function, as well as selected assessments for pre-heart failure, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and obstructive sleep apnea. Routine assessments are recommended for social determinants of health, which are closely related to development of CKM syndrome and its complications. To characterize risk related to excess adiposity, assessment for overweight/obesity and abdominal adiposity with both body mass index and waist circumference are recommended.
"We are trying to help clinicians from various specialties all speak in a common language and be on the same page, especially when it comes to managing weight and its clinical consequences," Ndumele said in a statement.
