About 9 in 10 U.S. adults have not heard of health condition that affects nearly 90% of people.
That’s the word from the American Heart Association, which surveyed about 4,000 people on their awareness of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a newly defined health condition that includes heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity.
Most U.S. adults have at least one risk factor for CKM syndrome including high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, high blood glucose (sugar), excess weight and reduced kidney function.
The interplay of these risk factors increases the risk for heart attack, stroke and heart failure more than any one of them alone, experts say.
Fortunately, most CKM risks are reversible with changes to their eating pattern, physical activity and appropriate treatment.
“We want people to know that it’s really common to have heart, kidney and metabolic risk factors at the same time. It is reassuring that once the CKM connection was defined nearly three-quarters of those responding understood that it was important and wanted to learn more,” said Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., FAHA, the American Heart Association’s chief medical officer for prevention.
The AHA will issue the first ever guidelines on CKM syndrome in early 2026.
Key findings from the new survey:
- 12% of U.S. adults had heard of CKM health or CKM syndrome
- 79% agreed that it is important that they understand more about CKM health and 72% said they are interested in learning more about it
- People are most interested in learning about how CKM syndrome is treated (72%) and diagnosed (71%)
- 68% of U.S. adults incorrectly believe it’s best to manage individual conditions one at a time or weren’t sure of the best way to manage them
- 42% believed that a healthy heart would not likely be damaged by other organ systems or weren’t sure
“The heart, kidney and metabolic systems are connected and, as such, should be treated in a coordinated way,” Sanchez said. “These results reveal the need to emphasize those connections and help patients understand the importance of collaborative care.”
“CKM health is about your overall health,” he continued. “It’s a full circle. You can take care of your overall health with regular checks of your blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, blood sugar and kidney function.”
The Harris Poll conducted the survey in August 2025 on behalf of the Heart Association.
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