Cardio-renal syndrome describes conditions where acute or chronic dysfunction of the heart and kidneys interact and worsen each other's condition. It is classified into 5 subtypes depending on whether acute or chronic cardiac issues lead to kidney injury or vice versa, and the direction of the cause and effect relationship between the two organs.

1. Pathophysiology and definitions of the five subtypes of cardio-renal syndrome (modified by
Ronco et al.105).
Ronco C et al. Eur Heart J 2009;eurheartj.ehp507
Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author
2009. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org