Heart disease more likely in people with psoriasis: study

People who suffer from psoriasis may want to pay extra attention to heart risks, since they may be at a greater risk for blocked arteries than those who don't have the skin disease - although the risk increase is not that high, according to a U.S. study. And the longer patients have psoriasis, the higher their risks are, said researchers, whose findings were published in the American Journal of Cardiology. "One of the things that we've come to understand is that psoriasis is not a disease that's just limited to the skin," said April Armstrong of the University of California, Davis, who worked on the study. Armstrong and her colleagues used records of patients who had undergone a heart scan called coronary angiography to compare the results of patients with and without psoriasis. Armstrong said that while the study did not prove that the condition causes heart disease, the skin rash may be a sign that there is inflammation inside the body, too

Psoriasis, Heart Disease, and Diabetes: What's the Link?

"Having psoriasis appears to double the risk that a person will also have a dangerous clustering of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes known as metabolic syndrome, a new study shows. Previous research has found patients with psoriasis to be at higher risk for getting diabetes and high blood pressure, but the new study, which is in the Archives of Dermatology, is one of the first to document the broader complement of cardiovascular risks associated with the disease"

Psoriasis linked to vascular disease (USA)

Patients with psoriasis are at increased risk for atherosclerosis and accompanying vascular diseases, researchers found. Among predominantly male patients at a Veterans Affairs medical center, the skin disease was associated with a greater likelihood of ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral arterial disease, as well as death, according to Robert Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Miami, and colleagues. "This result is not surprising, given the systemic nature of atherosclerosis," the researchers wrote in the June issue of Archives of Dermatology. - medpage Today

New links between psoriasis and heart disease

A University of Pennsylvania doctor has won a nearly 4 million dollar federal grant to continue his study of an unusual link - between heart disease and psoriasis. His findings could reach the 7 million people with the skin condition. - 6abc.com

An estimated 3.6 million undiagnosed psoriasis cases put lives at risk, Penn study shows (USA)

"Armed with research concluding that psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular conditions, Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues released an editorial consensus in the American Journal of Cardiology, calling for psoriasis patients to be educated about and screened for cardiovascular risk factors. Dr. Gelfand's latest research estimates that, in addition to the seven million Americans adults diagnosed with psoriasis, as many as 3.6 million Americans are living with active, undiagnosed psoriasis, unaware of the associated cardiovascular risk"