Heart attack risk raised in people with gout
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Gout, and the high levels of uric acid in the blood that cause the problem, are linked to an increased likelihood of having a heart attack among men at high risk of coronary artery disease, investigators report.
The few studies that have examined the association between gout and heart attack have had inconclusive findings, Dr. Eswar Krishnan, from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, and his associates note in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. They therefore conducted what they hoped to be “a conclusive study” that analyzed data from a large trial.
The study included 12,866 men (average age 46 years old) deemed to be at high risk of coronary “events” based on their smoking status, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. During follow-up of approximately 6.5 years, 1108 subjects had a heart attack.
At the start of the study, 8.7 percent of the men had gout and 41.5 percent had high uric acid levels.
An initial analysis showed that uric acid levels were not linked to the overall rate of heart attacks, but gout showed a small association. The rate was 10.5 percent among men with gout versus 8.43 percent among those free of gout.
After taking account of demographics, lifestyle, as well as use of aspirin, diuretic, and alcohol, and other factors, Krishnan’s team found that heart attacks were more frequent in those with high uric acid as well as those with gout.
SOURCE: Arthritis and Rheumatism, August 2006.
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