The For Kidneys Sake podcast series is brought to you by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and North West London Integrated Care Board (NWL NHS).

In this episode of For Kidneys’ Sake, Prof Jeremy Levy and Dr Andrew Frankel are joined by heart failure specialist: Carys Barton, Consultant Heart Failure Nurse and the first nurse to chair the British Society for Heart Failure. Together they unpack what heart failure nurses actually do, why they’re the “glue” in a complex system, and how they navigate the tricky intersection between heart failure and chronic kidney disease, from acute and community services to virtual care and palliative support.

They explore HFpEF, HFrEF and 'mildly reduced' EF, potassium panic, diuretics wrongly labelled 'nephrotoxic', and the art of accepting creatinine rises without reaching for the stop button. Carys is unapologetically pragmatic, championing rapid optimisation, potassium binders over drug withdrawal, and educating patients and families as the true game-changer. If you look after patients with heart failure, CKD, or both, this is 25 minutes of high-yield insight. Tune in and share it with your cardiology, renal and primary care colleagues.

Top 5 Takeaways

1. Heart failure nurses provide essential continuity: linking hospital, community and primary care.
2. HFpEF matters: half of patients have it, yet many services still don’t see them.
3. Creatinine rises are expected: look for trends and new baselines, not panic points.
4. Potassium needs context: don’t stop life-saving meds for a single reading over
5. Rapid optimisation works: starting all four pillars early is safe, even in CKD.

Resource Links:
NICE GUIDELINES [NG203] chronic kidney disease: assessment and management Overview | Chronic kidney disease: assessment and management | Guidance | NICE

Northwest London CKD guidelines for primary care Chronic kidney disease (nwlondonicb.nhs.uk)

The purpose of this podcast is to inform and educate health care professionals working in the primary care and community setting. The content is evidence based and consistent with NICE guidelines and North West Guidelines available at the time of publication.

The content of this podcast does not constitute medical advice and it is not intended to function as a substitute for a healthcare practitioner’s judgement.

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