American Heart Association Warns of Widespread Undiagnosed Heart Risks Beyond Cardiac Health

The American Heart Association’s 2026 statistics update reveals a concerning gap in public awareness about the interconnected nature of heart, kidney, and metabolic health, with millions of Americans unaware they have conditions that dramatically increase cardiovascular risk. According to the report, almost 1 in 4 U.S. adults with diabetes are unaware they have it, while Centers for Disease Control data indicate as many as 9 in 10 adults with chronic kidney disease don’t know they have the condition.

This lack of awareness is particularly dangerous because heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes are closely linked through 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, which represents one of the most significant threats to public health through disability and death from heart disease and stroke.

‘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.’

The Association’s statistics show that 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. For people with diabetes or high blood pressure, two screening tests for kidney health are suggested: the uACR urine test and eGFR blood test, each measuring different aspects of kidney health and function.

Regular screening of cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic health can catch problems early, as approximately 80% of heart attacks and strokes are preventable according to the Association. Risk factors often develop slowly with few or no symptoms initially, making proactive screening essential. ‘Due to the current risk factor rates, everyone could benefit from being screened this way,’ Rosen emphasized.

The 2026 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 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 that can improve multiple health conditions together.

The American Heart Association’s Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Health Initiative represents a specific effort to raise awareness of these connections and improve diagnosis rates. The initiative, supported by multiple pharmaceutical sponsors, 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, with expected impact on more than a quarter-million patients.

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