Allergy, asthma may increase your risk of heart disease

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Scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital found how allergic asthma and other associated allergies may be risk factors for heart disease and how medications given to treat asthma may also influence the risk of heart disease.

The research is published in Nature Cardiovascular Research and was conducted by Guo-Ping Shi et al.

When most people think of heart disease, risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes likely come to mind.

But mounting evidence from both basic research and clinical studies points to another common condition that may be associated with the risk of heart disease: allergic asthma.

In the study, the team reported clinical studies demonstrating the connection between asthma and diseases such as coronary heart diseases, aortic diseases, peripheral arterial diseases, stroke, heart failure, and other heart complications.

They also highlight clinical studies that have examined heart and related allergic diseases, such as allergic rhinitis (allergies triggered by pollen and other environmental factors), atopic dermatitis (allergic eczema), and severe food and drug allergies.

The researchers examined results from preclinical models and lab studies, which point to specific types of inflammatory cells that may accumulate in the lungs, heart, and vasculature, helping orchestrate asthma and CVD.

Both clinical and pre-clinical studies pointed to shared mechanisms for CVD and asthma.

The team also looked at how asthma medications that act on some of these mechanisms might influence the risk of CVD.

They say based on the previous studies, scientists can now ask: What is the next direction we need to pursue? What are the weakest points that we can focus on?

By connecting work across basic research and clinical studies, they can start to see the bigger picture and think about the implications for patient care.

If you care about heart disease, please read studies about supplements that could help prevent heart disease, stroke, and this common food may strongly increase heart disease risk.

For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about a new early warning sign for heart disease, and results showing this stuff in oranges and tangerines may help prevent diabetes, heart disease.

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