Gout Associated With Increased CVD and Heart Failure Risk in Black Population

“Although the association between gout and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been extensively studied, scarce data are available for the Black population,” authors of a study in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology wrote. “We aimed to assess the association between gout and CVD in a predominantly Black urban population with gout.”

The study utilized a cross-sectional analysis that compared a gout cohort with an age- and sex-matched control group. The researchers reviewed clinical parameters and 2D echocardiograms for patients with gout and heart failure (HF). The primary goal of the study was to examine the prevalence and strength of the link between gout and CVD. Secondary outcomes analyzed the strength of the connection between gout and HF based on ejection fraction, mortality, and HF readmissions.

The study included 471 patients with gout, of whom 89% were Black, 63% were men, and the mean body mass index was 31.3 kg/m². The prevalence of comorbidities was high among this population, with 89% having hypertension, 46% having diabetes mellitus, and 52% having dyslipidemia.

Compared with those in the control group, patients with gout exhibited significantly higher rates of various CVD conditions, including angina, arrhythmia, coronary artery disease/stents, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, cerebrovascular accident, and peripheral vascular disease. The study findings revealed that patients with gout were almost 3 times more likely to develop CVD compared with the control group.

Furthermore, gout patients had a considerably higher prevalence of HF, with 45% affected compared with only 9.4% in the control group. Patients with gout were at a 7 times greater risk of developing HF compared with the control group.

Although this study provides crucial insights, “Further research is needed to confirm our findings and to develop interventions to reduce morbidity associated with gout,” the researchers concluded.

Source: Journal of Clinical Rheumatology