Chloride: The CardioRenal Connector

Presentation Description / Summary: Chloride is emerging as an essential electrolyte in heart disease pathophysiology in people and dogs. Recent studies have found that hypochloremia is associated with poor outcomes, advanced disease, and a requirement for higher diuretic doses. There is, therefore, interest in understanding the role of hypochloremia in disease progression and exploring the potential benefits of restoring patients to normochloremia. This talk will review published literature showing evidence for the role of chloride in cardiac disease progression, discuss proposed mechanisms by which hypochloremia might be detrimental in heart failure, and present ongoing research on hypochloremia in dogs with heart disease from our laboratory. Specific research areas of investigation that will be discussed include evaluating mechanisms by which hypochloremia contributes to disease progression through cardiorenal signaling and exploring therapeutic approaches to address this underrecognized cardiorenal connector.

Learner Outcomes: 1. To understand the integral role of chloride in cardiorenal crosstalk in dogs with heart disease and how this might promote disease progression and poor outcomes 2. To gain an appreciation for how understanding the mechanisms underlying the association of hypochloremia and heart disease progression could lead to adjunctive therapies to improve outcomes.