ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, more than eight million people in the United States have psoriasis. Now, research is showing this skin disease affects other organs in the body, including your heart.
When you think of psoriasis, you probably think of red, itchy, scaly skin patches. But scientists are finding out this common disease affects more than the skin.
Ben Kaffenberger, a medical dermatologist, at The Ohio State University explained “That inflammation that’s present in the skin that’s causing this skin to swell and to thicken, it is much more than skin deep. It’s causing a full body inflammatory process.”
Recent studies have shown that inflammation impacts your body’s cardiovascular system.
That patient with psoriasis has a much higher risk of having heart disease, dying of heart disease, than a patient that doesn’t,” Dr. Kaffenberger told Ivanhoe.
A recent review of 90 studies found patients with psoriasis had a higher risk of ischemic heart disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. They also had more heart disease risk factors, like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Another study found psoriasis was linked to an increased risk of developing a heart arrhythmia. But there are things you can do to lower your risk of heart problems and improve your psoriasis symptoms, including “stopping smoking, decreasing your alcohol consumption, eating more fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, less processed foods,” detailed Dr. Kaffenberger.
Taking your prescribed medicines may also help. A study published in Cardiovascular Research found that biologic drugs used to treat psoriasis may also reduce the risk of heart disease.
Psoriasis is often mistaken for other skin diseases, like eczema, ringworm, hives, or even skin cancer. A dermatologist can help you determine if your skin rashes are psoriasis.
Contributors to this news report include: Julie Marks, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor
Sources:
https://www.psoriasis.org/psoriasis-statistics/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/psoriasis/living-with/psoriasis-heart-health-untold-story/
https://www.healthline.com/health/psoriasis/psoriasis-and-your-heart#the-heart-andpsoriasis
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30721933/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/psoriasis/living-with/psoriasis-heart-health-untold-story/
PSORIASIS INFLAMES THE HEART
THE HEART
REPORT #2954
BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes red, itchy scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk, and scalp. Psoriasis is a common, long-term (chronic) disease with no cure. It tends to go through cycles, flaring for a few weeks or months, then subsiding for a while or going into remission. According to the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA), nearly three percent of the world’s population has some form of psoriasis. That’s over 125 million people. A review of research studies published in February 2018 in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science concluded that people with psoriasis have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and heart disease risk factors, including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol.
https://www.healthline.com/health/psoriasis/facts-statistics-infographic#Prevalence
https://www.everydayhealth.com/psoriasis/living-with/psoriasis-heart-health-untold-story/)
DIAGNOSIS: The signs and symptoms of psoriasis can vary depending on the type of psoriasis you have. The five most common symptoms of psoriasis include: rashes or patches of red, inflamed skin, often covered with loose, silver-colored scales, itchy, painful skin that can crack or bleed, small areas of bleeding where the involved skin is scratched, problems with your fingernails and toenails, including discoloration and pitting, and scaly plaques on the scalp. Every person with this condition has their own triggers. Things that cause your psoriasis to become active may not affect another person.
(Source: https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/psoriasis/psoriasis-signs-symptoms)
NEW TREATMENT: Researchers have found that treating psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease, with biologic drugs that target immune system activity can reduce the early plaque buildup that clogs arteries, restricts blood flow, and leads to heart attacks and stroke. The findings highlight how immunotherapies that treat inflammatory conditions might play a role in the reduction of cardiovascular disease risks. The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, appears online today in the journal Cardiovascular Research. Now, researchers provided first in-human evidence that treatment of a known inflammatory condition with biologic therapy, a type of drugs that suppresses the immune system, was associated with a reduction in coronary artery disease, in particular of rupture prone plaque which often leads to a heart attack.
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Amy Colgan
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