Chronic kidney disease is the 19th leading cause of years of life lost with nearly one million deaths estimated worldwide in 2013.

It is a major health challenge due to its high prevalence and associated risks of kidney failure, cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. In France, 5.7 million people have chronic kidney disease, two out of three of whom have a 50% reduction in kidney function.

It is most often asymptomatic until a very advanced stage and its prognosis is linked to increased morbidity and mortality, particularly cardiovascular (heart failure, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease, cardiac rhythm disorders and sudden death). It accelerates the ageing of the arteries and heart, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease by a factor of 10 and of kidney failure by a factor of 1000, and increases the risk of premature death.

INI-CRCT is a research network of excellence whose coordination unit is ISO 9001 certified. It is composed of men and women who have decided to work together to improve the cardiovascular prognosis of patients with kidney failure. For the first time, it brings together French leaders with expertise in the field of cardio renal disease (cardiologists, nephrologists, intensive care anaesthetists, internists, epidemiologists, methodologists, basic researchers, as well as an ARO (Academic Research Organisation), haemodialysis centres, heart failure networks, the Biomedicine Agency, the University of Lorraine and the NIT Foundation.

Today in France, medicine, organised into specialities, sees the management of renal failure and heart failure dissociated. However, current research shows a strong association between kidney disease and cardiovascular risk. The emergence of personalised medicine on the one hand, and a globalised approach to health on the other, require an increasing professionalisation of clinical research specialists, new working methods and network organisation to meet the health challenges facing society and the world of research.

the partner network of an RHU in the 1st wave of labelling