If you live with eczema, you may have to worry about your heart health. Eczema is a skin condition where the skin becomes inflamed, red in color, cracked, itchy, and rough. Researchers are now uncovering a possible link between the skin condition and matters of the heart.
The researchers found a small increase in non-fatal cardiovascular outcomes in some patients and a slight increase in fatal cardiovascular outcomes among patients with more severe cases of eczema. As of now, it is unclear what establishes the link or whether or not eczema treatments contribute to cardiovascular risk.
For the latest study, the researchers reviewed records from over 380,000 patients with atopic eczema and over 1.5 million without.
After adjusting for other factors, the researchers found up to a 20 percent higher risk of non-fatal cardiovascular outcomes among eczema patients compared to non-patients.
Severe eczema cases were associated with a 41 percent higher heart attack risk, 69 percent higher heart failure risk, 22 percent higher risk of stroke, and 38 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death.
Professor Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation concluded, “Although the reasons for this remain unknown, and the absolute increase in risk is small, GPs should be made aware of the findings and be alert for indicators of cardiovascular risk in their eczema patients.”
Although the risk is small, it’s still important that eczema patients live adhering to healthy heart habits to not increase their risk of a cardiovascular outcome. This means eating well, regular exercise, reducing stress, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight.