The Cardiorenal Syndrome: Basis and Common Ground for a Multidisciplinary Patient-Oriented Therapy

Patients admitted to hospital(s) may present with various degrees of heart and kidney dysfunction. Primary disorders of one of these two organs often result in secondary dysfunction or injury to the other. Such pathophysiological interactions represent the pathophysiological basis for a clinical entity often referred to as the cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) [1]. Although generally defined as a condition characterized by the initiation and/or progression of renal insufficiency secondary to heart failure, the term CRS is also used to describe the negative effects of reduced renal function on the heart (renocardiac syndrome).