Washington: Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified a significant independent factor, which may cause heart disease for people with no previous history of heart attacks.
According to their research published in the latest edition of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism, people suffering with gout are at an increased risk of a heart attack.
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,” assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, division of rheumatology, and principal author of the study, Eswar Krishnan M D said.
“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," he added.
The study also found a relationship between gout and the risk of acute MI to be present among nonusers of alcohol, diuretics or aspirin and among those who did not have metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus or obesity.
"The absolute magnitude of the relative risk for the presence of gout was not high. Yet, the odds ratio associated with gout was relatively high compared to other risk factors in this study," Krishnan said.
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