Cardiorenal-Glycemic Status

According to the National Kidney Foundation, there are approximately 37 million adults in the U.S. who have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and about 90% are unaware of their condition. Diabetes is the leading cause of CKD in the United States. The significant impact of CKD on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk has been increasingly recognized. Patients with CKD are far more likely to die, predominantly from CVD, than to progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Currently, mainstays of treatment for diabetic kidney disease include control of hypertension, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. This panel has been established to aid in the identification and monitoring of hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and CKD in patients with a history of diabetes and/or kidney disease.

Guidelines and expert panels advocate renal function testing patients with diabetes and/or hypertension at least annually with urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (uACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). CKD is characterized by gradual loss of kidney function over time, defined as presence of either kidney damage (as indicated by the presence of albuminuria) or declining kidney function (as indicated by the level of GFR) for more than three months.¹

Non-HDL-C is a calculation (total cholesterol minus HDL-C), and includes the sum of the VLDL-C, LDL-C, and IDL-C. While LDL-C has long been the primary focus of cholesterol reduction efforts, there are several other lipoproteins that also affect cardiovascular health. The advantage of non-HDL-C measurement is that it accounts for cholesterol in the other potentially atherogenic lipoprotein particles, which include VLDL-C, IDL-C, LDL-C, and lipoprotein(a). Recent guidelines suggest that non-HDL levels above 190 mg/dL enhances the risk for CVD.²

Hemoglobin A1c values are used to assess glucose control in diabetes, and in 2010, the American Diabetes Associations affirmed the decision of an international expert committee recommendation to use the A1c test to diagnose diabetes with a threshold ≥6.5%.

The Cardiorenal-glycemic Panel can be collected non-fasting.