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Acute kidney injury may be deadlier than heart attacks, a new study suggests.

Researchers said the latest findings suggest that follow-up surveillance are very important for protecting the health of patients who develop this type of kidney damage.

Lead researcher Lakhmir Chawla, MD (George Washington University and Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Washington DC) and his colleagues looked at the seriousness of acute kidney injury in 36,980 patients discharged with a diagnosis of AKI or heart attack (myocardial infarction, or MI) who were admitted to a Veteran Affairs facility between October 1999 and December 2005.

The findings revealed that death occurred most often in patients who experienced both AKI and MI and least often in patients with uncomplicated admissions for MI. Those with AKI or AKI + MI later experienced more major heart and kidney problems compared to patients with MI alone.

"The findings from this study will be critical for planning future interventional trials in patients with AKI," Chawla said in a news release. "Because AKI remains an ongoing and increasing public health hazard, more research into the treatment and management of this syndrome is critically required."

The findings are published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).