Diabetes and kidney disease are major risk factors for heart disease, yet many cases are undiagnosed, according to the American Heart Association's new 2026 statistics update. A consumer survey suggests most people don't realize their heart, kidney, and metabolic health are connected. The Association's report indicates almost 1 in 4 U.S. adults with diabetes are unaware they have it, while Centers for Disease Control data show as many as 9 in 10 adults with chronic kidney disease do not know they have it.
Because heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes are closely linked, having one condition often increases the likelihood of developing the others. This connection is largely due to shared risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, excess weight, and reduced kidney function. The medical term for this connection is cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, or CKM syndrome. The biggest health threats from CKM syndrome are disability and death from heart disease and stroke, which make up the "cardiovascular" part of CKM.
The Association's statistics report shows that about half of all U.S. adults have high blood pressure, about 1 in 3 has high total cholesterol, more than half have prediabetes or diabetes, over half have a high waist circumference, and about 1 in 7 has kidney disease. Screening for kidney disease in particular could be improved, as two-thirds of patients with high blood pressure or diabetes are not aware they also have kidney disease due to lack of uACR testing, a urine test for kidney function.
"We are encouraging people to become aware of the connection between conditions so they and their health care team can think about their overall health beyond individual conditions," said Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association. "Understanding the connection helps you better prevent complications through lifestyle changes and appropriate treatment." Rosen emphasizes that regular screening of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health can catch problems early, as approximately 80% of heart attacks and strokes are preventable.
Screening for CKM syndrome may include blood pressure measurement, cholesterol panel, blood glucose testing, body weight and size measurements, and kidney function tests using both UACR and eGFR. A healthcare professional can put results from these tests into the PREVENT online calculator to estimate individual risk for cardiovascular disease over the next 10 or 30 years. CKM syndrome is preventable and treatable through healthy habits like those in Life's Essential 8 and evidence-based treatments.
The Association's Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Health Initiative is a specific effort to raise awareness of the connections between CKM syndrome conditions and improve diagnosis rates. The initiative, supported by founding sponsors Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim, supporting sponsors Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Bayer, and champion sponsor DaVita, is enrolling 150 health care sites across 15 U.S. regions to participate in learning and sharing best practices for interdisciplinary care of CKM syndrome. It is expected to impact the care of more than a quarter-million patients.
For business and technology leaders focused on healthcare innovation, these findings highlight significant opportunities in early detection technologies, integrated health monitoring systems, and data analytics that can connect disparate health indicators. The widespread lack of awareness about interconnected health conditions represents both a public health challenge and a market opportunity for solutions that provide comprehensive health screening and risk assessment.
