25 Apr 2023 • In an editorial published in The American Journal of Medicine, the impact of new coronary risk factors that have emerged has been studied. The new coronary risk factors include the following diseases characterized by systemic inflammation.

• Gout : Among patients who have experienced a recent flare of gout, the probability of experiencing an acute cardiovascular event such as a myocardial infarction or stroke is increased.
• Rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematous - Patients with one or both of these conditions are at higher odds of experiencing concomitant premature and extremely premature coronary artery disease.
• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis) — Patients with this disease have increased odds of developing coronary artery disease.
• Psoriasis - Patients with psoriasis are up to 50% more likely to develop CVD.
• Maternal and Childhood Factors - The following maternal and childhood factors are associated with an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease: gestational diabetes; preeclampsia; delivering a child of low birth weight; preterm delivery; and premature or surgical menopause. An unusual and yet unexplained association has been observed between migraine headaches with aura in women and incident cardiovascular disease.
• Environmental Factors - Air pollution was estimated to have caused 9 million deaths worldwide in 2019, with 62% due to CVD and 31.7% to coronary artery disease
• Lifestyle factors - Prolonged exposure to work stressors, long-term consumption of drinks containing sugar and artificial sweeteners & skipping breakfast has been linked to increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

Recognizing the presence of one or more of these new risk factors could help prompt and improve behaviors for reducing more conventional CV risk factors to a minimum.

Source: American Journal of Medicine | Read full story