Psoriasis ups heart attack risk

“Adults with psoriasis – especially younger patients with severe symptoms – appear to be at increased risk of a heart attack, a major study suggests.

A University of Pennsylvania team found a 30-year-old with severe symptoms had about three times the risk of somebody of a similar age without psoriasis.

They believe the immune abnormalities which cause the skin condition may also increase the risk of heart problems.

The study is published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Psoriasis, which occurs when the skin replaces itself too quickly, affects more than one million people in the UK. There are many different forms.

It usually appears as red, scaly patches that when scraped or scratched reveal fine silvery scales.

The patches may feel intensely uncomfortable, and cause pain. Some people develop a specific form of arthritis related to psoriasis.

Previous research has previously linked the condition to a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Read more on the BBC Health news site.

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Tags: American Medical Association, cardiovascular diseases, coronary, heart attacks, heart disease, hearth health, Psoriasis

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 11th, 2006 at 7:37 pm and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.