Psoriasis Linked With 6 Percent Higher Cardiovascular Disease Risk
APRIL 19, 2011
Patients with severe psoriasis face a 6 percent higher 10-year risk for a cardiovascular event than do comparable people without psoriasis, according to the findings of a case-control analysis of nearly 18,000 people. This added cardiovascular risk can have substantial implications, as it can move psoriasis patients into a higher Framingham Risk Score category and shift the way physicians need to think about cardiovascular risk management of these patients, Nehal N. Mehta, MD, MSCE, director of Inflammatory Risk Clinic, reported at the 2011 American College of Cardiology Annual Meeting. The research was done in collaboration with Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Dermatology and Epidemiology. In an interview with Internal Medicine News, Dr. Mehta said "Psoriasis and atherosclerosis are both T-cell mediated diseases." Most likely what goes on in the skin –to form the psoriasis plaques – also is going on inside patients' blood vessels, he said.
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