Dr. Drew Oehler, preventative cardiologist at Allegheny Health Network. Submitted photo

Most people may never have heard of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome, or CKM, which makes sense, considering the condition was only identified and named in 2023.

However, if they are an adult American, there is a 90% chance they may meet the conditions for being diagnosed with it.

According to Dr. Drew Oehler, a preventive cardiologist at Allegheny Health Network, CKM is not considered a disease, but a framework for understanding and predicting the likelihood of other obesity-related conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease.

“The diagnosis of (CKM) syndrome doesn't mean that a specific therapy is indicated,” Oehler said. “It means that a person has a certain collection of risk factors, and they have, as a result of those risk factors, developed some degree of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease or metabolic disease.”

CKM first gained attention in 2023 after the American Heart Association published a major advisory on the condition in the heart health medical journal Circulation. More attention fell upon CKM in June 2026 after the AHA and American Cardiology Council released their first set of guidelines on the prevention and management of the condition.

According to research performed in making the guidelines, nearly 90% of adults in the U.S. have at least one risk factor for CKM.

In the new guidelines, both organizations identified obesity as one of the major risk factors and established a four-stage classification system based on severity.

According to Oehler, the new guidelines will allow physicians to identify patients who are at risk of facing heart, kidney, or metabolic illness early enough to steer them on a course toward better health.

“Historically, a lot of cardiovascular medicine was treating heart attacks as they were happening,” Oehler said. “That was like putting out a fire in a burning building. That's important to do to save people, but what we're focusing on now a little bit more is building safety codes to prevent fires from happening in the first place. That's what public health measures like this are really important for.”

The later in life an individual starts managing the core causes of CKM, the higher the risk of accumulating cardiovascular or kidney diseases such as atherosclerosis, Oehler said.

“Atherosclerosis is a lifelong process. It doesn't typically emerge in someone in their 20s or 30s, or even their 40s, but it's happening the entire time. It’s happening in a cumulative fashion,” Oehler said. “CKM Syndrome is a process that should be on your mind at all ages, because obesity is a problem that can affect anybody at any age.”

Mitigating the risk factors for CKM starts with following Life’s Essential 8 — a list of eight health and lifestyle improvements compiled by the American Heart Association to maintain optimal cardiovascular health. These include: staying active, staying away from or quitting tobacco use, eating well, getting decent sleep, and managing blood cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and weight.

“These are eight very fundamental health factors that a patient can attend to most of the time by themselves,” Oehler said.

Genetics can also play a role in increasing the likelihood of CKM-related conditions, especially if an individual has a family history of diabetes.

“There is a genetic pressure to develop metabolic syndrome in certain patients and that’s discoverable in an interview about family history and whether the rest of your family has diabetes or high blood pressure to become overweight or obese,” Oehler said. “That genetic pressure goes hand in hand with how you live your life.”

Oehler said individuals concerned about having CKM can seek guidance from a physician. However, he adds the onus is on the individual to take the necessary steps to maintain their health and avoid the risk factors for CKM.

“Some parts of risk mitigation need a good partnership with your health team, including your physician,” Oehler said. “But other parts are absolutely up to you.”