Cardiovascular–Endocrine–Metabolic Medicine: Proposing a New Clinical Sub-Specialty Amid the Cardiometabolic Pandemic

Abstract

Cardiovascular–Renal–Hepatic–Metabolic diseases are on the rise worldwide, creating major challenges for patient care and clinical research. Although these conditions share common mechanisms and often respond to similar treatments—such as lifestyle changes and newer cardiometabolic drugs (e.g., SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists)—clinical management remains divided among multiple specialties. Recently proposed curricula in Cardiometabolic Medicine and Preventive Cardiology reflect an effort to address this fragmentation. In addition, recent studies reveal that hormonal deficiencies may increase cardiovascular risk and worsen heart failure, with emerging data showing that correcting these imbalances can improve exercise capacity and possibly reduce major cardiac events. To overcome gaps in care, we propose a new sub-specialty: Cardiovascular–Endocrine–Metabolic Medicine. This approach unifies three main pillars: (1) Lifestyle medicine, emphasizing nutrition, physical activity, and smoking cessation; (2) the Integrated Medical Management of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, early-stage kidney disease, metabolic-associated liver disease, and related conditions; and (3) hormonal therapies, focused on optimizing sex hormones and other endocrine pathways to benefit cardiometabolic health. By bridging cardiology, endocrinology, and metabolic medicine, this sub-specialty offers a more seamless framework for patient care, speeds up the adoption of new treatments, and sets the stage for innovative research—all critical steps in addressing the escalating cardiometabolic pandemic.

Keywords

• cardiometabolic medicine
• lifestyle medicine
• cardiology
• endocrinology
• cardiovascular–renal–hepatic–metabolic syndrome
• obesity