With July marking the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there's an interesting parallel to the game of football unfolding in cardiorenal-metabolic care. Just as successful teams rely on players with complementary strengths, the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and heart failure (HF) is increasingly moving towards coordinated, multi-modal treatment strategies. GLP-1s are central to this, with ~1 in 3 CKD and HF* patients already receiving one. Success in these areas will come from understanding how to position therapies within combination-led care vs therapeutic class dominance.
*Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)
Introduction
CKD and HF have long challenged physicians with their complexity and chronic nature. For decades, healthcare has treated these conditions as distinct entities requiring separate management strategies. But the landscape is changing. Millions of patients don't fit neatly into traditional treatment silos, and the market is responding with a new playbook — one where metabolic medications, particularly GLP-1 receptor agonists, are emerging as integral players in comprehensive cardiorenal-metabolic care.
