Association Between Cardiovascular Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease Prevalence and Characteristics in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary artery disease (CAD), is a leading global cause of death. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant risk factor, particularly in data-scarce Saudi Arabia, due to shared risk factors. A study aims to assess the CVD-CKD relationship, identifying clinical characteristics and risk factors to improve prevention and care in this context, filling a knowledge gap in Saudi Arabia's healthcare map. Methodology It is a single-center retrospective study aimed at evaluating the relationship between cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, conducted between January 2023 and October 2023. Data was sourced from patient files using a data sheet based on a previous study. The data was cleaned in MS Excel (Redmond, USA) and analyzed in IBM Corp. Released 2022. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 29.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Results Our study contains predominantly males (61%), aged 61-80 (54.1%), with a normal body mass index (BMI) (<25) (61.5%) and a high prevalence of smoking (72.3%). Diabetes, hypertension, and smoking were prevalent risk factors. The relationship between CAD severity, renal dysfunction, and ejection fraction (EF) was explored, emphasizing the association between declining renal function and more advanced CAD stages, as well as the decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with decreasing EF. Age, smoking, CAD, and decreasing EF were linked to renal dysfunction, while smoking, stroke history, peripheral vascular disease (PVD), BMI, and decreasing EF were associated with CAD stage severity. Conclusion Our study explored that as CAD severity increases, renal function decreases, showing both CVD and CKD connected with each other, and a similar correlation occurs between decreasing EF and decreasing eGFR, revealing significant associations with various risk factors. Further research is warranted to explore potential interventions aimed at mitigating the synergistic impact of CVD and CKD on patient morbidity and mortality.

Risk Factors for Post-cardiac Surgery Infections.

Background Cardiac surgery infection is a life-threatening complication associated with high morbidity and mortality. One of the main types of these infections, surgical site infections (SSIs), also called postoperative wound infections basically delayed the post-surgical recovery in many patients. These infections rarely happen within 30 days after surgery due to different risk factors. Objectives The purpose of this study is to determine the risk factors that are involved in causing post-cardiac surgical infections. Methods This study was a retrospective study. The data of postoperative cardiac patients was obtained from the Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Center in King Fahad Armed Force Hospital, Jeddah. Data on the patients were collected from 2016 to 2021. Eligible patients were those of age 18 and greater. These patients were evaluated on basis of the pre and postoperative risk factors and were analyzed for 30 days after discharge and those that developed SSIs were identified. Results Out of the total number of 2366 patients, 151 patients (6.4%) were identified with post-surgery infections out of which 107 (4.5%) had developed superficial wound infections (SSWIs) and 44 (1.9%) had developed deep wound infections (DSWIs). Infection mainly occurs in the male population (n=88, 58.3%). Major risk factors that were the main cause of post-cardiac surgery infections were diabetes (61.5%), hypertension (56.9%), smoking (38.4%), renal failure (27.1%), and re-do operation (25.1%). Conclusion Our study has demonstrated major risk factors that are involved in the occurrence of post-cardiac surgery infections like smoking, diabetes mellitus, sex, more than one operation during a single stay, etc. In the future, the contribution of various other factors involved in the occurrence of surgical site infections and best practices and methods should be studied and implemented to prevent the occurrence of post-cardiac surgery infections. Various simple techniques can still be utilized to prevent these sorts of infections, which will decrease the mortality rate.

Awareness of Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factors Among the Population of Taif City, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is responsible for significant mortality and morbidity among patients. Many factors are associated with the increasing prevalence of CAD in a population, including diet and lifestyle, physical inactivity, high cholesterol levels, and others. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to assess the awareness level and knowledge about CAD risk factors and its prevalence among the general population in Taif city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This study was a community-based cross-sectional descriptive study carried out from August 2022 to September 2022 by an online questionnaire previously validated in published studies and then distributed via different social media platforms to assess participants' knowledge of risk factors for CAD. The survey included questions about socio-demographic data and risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and their prevalence. RESULTS: A total of 2439 participants met the inclusion criteria and finally enrolled in the current study. About 1671 (68.5%) were found to have good awareness levels, 718 (29.4%) of the participants were considered to be having fair awareness levels, and only 50 (2.1%) of the participants were with poor awareness levels. CONCLUSION: Most participants have a good level of knowledge and awareness about CAD. Few knowledge gaps were regarding certain factors, including age, gender, and family history of CAD. High educational level and age were found to be linked with a higher level of knowledge regarding CAD.