Psoriasis Tied to Raised Heart Risk

Psoriasis Tied to Raised Heart Risk: Skin ailment boosts odds for heart attack, stroke, and inflammation may be key, researchers say. The common skin ailment psoriasis may boost the risk for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular woes, probably through a shared inflammatory response, a new Danish study found. After compensating for a wide range of possible variables, researchers found that severe psoriasis raised the odds of heart attack by 24%, but no such significant rise was noted among people with a mild form of the disease. Odds for stroke were raised by 45% for those with moderate or severe psoriasis and by 19% for those with mild psoriasis, the study found. People who were younger than 50 years of age at the beginning of the study and had moderate to severe psoriasis had considerably higher odds — about double — for both atrial fibrillation and angioplasty, compared to people without the condition, the researchers added. March 13, 2010, presentation, American College of Cardiology, annual meeting, Atlanta)