CROHN'S AND COLITIS MAY BE TIED TO RISK OF HEART ATTACK, STROKE
People
with inflammatory bowel disease may be at increased risk for heart attack and
stroke, a new study suggests.
Researchers
analyzed data from more than 150,000 inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients
who took part in nine studies. They found that these patients had a 10 percent
to 25 percent increased risk of stroke and heart attack, and that this
increased risk was more prevalent among women.
Doctors
need to be aware of this link and should focus on controlling other stroke and
heart attack risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes,
study author Siddharth Singh, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said in a
news release from the clinic.
The
study was scheduled for presentation Monday at the annual meeting of the
American College of Gastroenterology, in San Diego. Research presented at
medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a
peer-reviewed journal.
Crohn’s
disease and ulcerative colitis — the most common forms of IBD — affect 1.5
million Americans. In these patients, inflammation of the intestine leads to
rectal bleeding, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and pain, fever, and weight loss.
Patients
with IBD need to work with a doctor to manage their condition, control their
stress, eat a healthy diet and get moderate exercise. Smoking is a major risk
factor for IBD patients, and those who smoke should try to quit, the
researchers said.
Although
the study found an association between IBD and an increased risk for heart
attack and stroke, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
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