Gout increases the risk of suffering a heart attack, according to new research from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.The study is published// in the August edition of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism and the full article is available on line at
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/
cgibin/jhome/76509746
This is the first time that researchers have demonstrated that people having no risk of coronary heart disease could be at risk for heart attack due to gout.
Gout is a metabolic disease marked by acute arthritis and inflammation of the joints, usually beginning in the knee or foot. It is caused by hyperuricemia, a build up of uric acid in blood. When chronic or severe hyperuricemia leads to urate crystals within joints, it results in an inflammatory response that manifests as gouty arthritis.
"Our study confirms that gouty arthritis is an independent risk factor for myocardial infarction (MI) or heart attack. Until now this relationship has not been explained by well-known links to renal function, metabolic syndrome, diuretic use and the traditional cardiovascular risk factors," said Eswar Krishnan, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, division of rheumatology, and principal author of the study.
The prospective study examined data from 12,866 men who were enrolled for a mean of 6.5 years in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT), a randomized primary cardiovascular disease prevention trial conducted and supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
There were 5,337 men with hyperuricemia at the beginning of the study. Over the study period, 1,123 individuals developed gouty arthritis. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups with regard to cholesterol levels, aspirin use, family history of acute MI, or diabetes mellitus. However, the group with gout was significantly more likely to have used d
'"/>Page: 1 2 Related medicine news :1.
One in Three Heart Attack Patients Have No Chest Pains
2.
Epileptic Seizures Can Be Due to Heart Problem3.
Bypass Heart Surgery Performed Without General Anesthesia
4.
New CPR Guidelines issued by Heart Association5.
White Cells Count Can Predict Heart Attack Death Risk
6.
Vitamins-The answer to Heart Disease?7.
Fight Heart disease and Pain with Meditation8.
Heart disease in the newborn is related to maternal malnutrition9.
New drug to treat Heart Attack and damaged tissue10.
Heart disease threat starts early in life for Diabetics11.
Mechanical Heart