Cardiovascular disease burden is much greater among elderly patients with chronic kidney disease than in those without, the U.S. Renal Disease System reported.
Among Medicare fee-for-service enrollees aged 66 years and older, the prevalence of heart failure in 2011 was 43% for those with CKD and 19% for those without CKD. The prevalence of stroke and transient ischemic attack was 27% among CKD patients and 20% in those with no CKD. Acute MI prevalence in 2011 was 15% in CKD patients and 6% among enrollees without CKD, according to the USRDS.
