Heart risk for women with gout

[Posted: Mon 08/02/2010 by Deborah Condon www.irishhealth.com]

Women with the painful joint disease, gout, are significantly more likely to suffer a heart attack than men with the condition, the results of a new study indicate.

Gout is a common rheumatic disease and is caused by a build-up of uric acid in the blood, which can be caused by a diet rich in protein and alcohol. The prevalence of gout is increasing worldwide, caused by a rise in obesity and factors related to obesity such as insulin resistance and high blood pressure.

Gout is more common in men and is known to boost their risk of a heart attack. But to date, little has been known about the impact of gout on women’s cardiovascular health.

US researchers looked at over 9,500 people with gout and 48,000 people without the disease. All were aged 65 or older.

The cardiovascular health of all the participants was tracked for an average of seven years. During that time, 3,268 fatal and non-fatal heart attacks occurred. Of these, just under one-third (996) were in women.

The study found that compared with women who did not have gout, those who did were 39% more likely to have a heart attack of any kind and 41% more likely to have a non-fatal heart attack.

These risks were significantly higher among women than men. Men with gout were only 11% more likely than those without the disease to have a fatal or non-fatal heart attack.

The findings held true after adjusting for factors likely to influence the results, such as age, other underlying health problems and use of prescription drugs.

The researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine suggested that uric acid may boost levels of inflammation and platelet stickiness, both of which are thought to increase the risk of heart disease. Other forms of arthritis also boost the risk of heart disease, they added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

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