High risk of cardiovascular diseases after MS dx (abstract)

[agate]

I hope nobody minds a research abstract. Things slow down here as the weekend comes on, and maybe this will at least be some "filler".

High risk of cardiovascular diseases after diagnosis of multiple sclerosis Elham Jadidi1 Mohammad Mohammadi1 Tahereh Moradi 1Institute of Environmental Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden 2Centre for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Health Care Services, Sweden Tahereh Moradi, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden. Background: Studies of the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have the potential to improve our understanding of the etiology of and the heterogeneity of prognosis and outcomes. Objectives: To investigate the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, heart failure (HF), and atrial fibrillation (AF) or Flutter in MS patients with different ethnicity, both female and male. Methods: Using Poisson regression, we performed a nationwide study in Sweden to investigate the association between the diagnosis of MS and the risk of MI, stroke, HF, or AF/Flutter in 8281 patients who were hospitalized due to MS from 1987 through 2009, plus 76,640 matched control individuals. We performed stratified analyses by sex, age at follow-up and country of birth. Results: Among MS patients, the incidence rate ratio for MI was 1.85 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59 to 2.15), for stroke was 1.71 (95% CI 1.46 to 2.00), for HF was 1.97 (95% CI 1.52 to 2.56) and for AF/Flutter was 0.63 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.87), as compared with individuals without MS. The increased risks were particularly prominent for women. These associations remained after stratification by sex, age and country of birth. Conclusion: We recommend careful surveillance and preventive CVDs measures among MS patients, particularly among the women.

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[Lazarus]

This abstract is very interesting. I have been researching the impact of MS on one's breathing system as well as one's appetite. Are brain plaques the cause of heart events? I wonder.
Thanks.

[SalpalSally]

I wonder what the age of these MS women were, when tested?
I've had MS for almost 50 years and have had absolutely no
heart problems. At 72, my heart and lungs still test well. BP
is better than normal.

However, as a person ages, with or without MS, ones heart
can and does develope problems. I wish these scientists
would use this time and money to find a cure or a MS med
that really works.

[agate]

This abstract is very interesting. I have been researching the impact of MS on one's breathing system as well as one's appetite. Are brain plaques the cause of heart events? I wonder.
Thanks.

I understand that if there are MS lesions in some areas of the brainstem, they can interfere with the autonomic functions that are controlled in the brainstem--including heart functioning. I've heard of cardiac arrest that was thought to be MS-related.

Sally, the age of the women tested in the study is probably in the actual article though not in the abstract. I might be able to get the entire article--just let me know.