Psoriasis: The visible killer

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory disease associated with serious comorbidities. In recent years, increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction and stroke) has been documented in patients with severe psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis have a higher prevalence of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tiago Torres, Nuno Bettencourt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2014-02-01
Series:Revista Portuguesa de Cardiologia (English Edition)
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2174204914000610
Description
Summary:Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory disease associated with serious comorbidities. In recent years, increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction and stroke) has been documented in patients with severe psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis have a higher prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and obesity, but it has been suggested that the chronic inflammatory nature of psoriasis is also a contributing and potentially an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease.The authors highlight the need for early identification and treatment of psoriasis‐related comorbidities and cardiovascular disease, as well as effective treatment of psoriasis, in order to reduce the underlying systemic inflammation, and also the importance of a multidisciplinary approach of severe psoriasis patients to optimize the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of various comorbidities, so as to prevent cardiovascular events. Resumo: A psoríase é uma doença inflamatória crónica, comum, associada a comorbilidades importantes. Nos últimos anos tem sido demonstrado que os doentes com psoríase grave têm um risco aumentado de mortalidade por doenças cardiovasculares, como enfarte agudo do miocárdio ou acidente vascular cerebral. Por um lado os doentes com psoríase têm uma prevalência aumentada de fatores de risco cardiovasculares como diabetes, hipertensão, dislipidemia e obesidade, e por outro, a natureza inflamatória da doença parece contribuir e ser um fator de risco independente para o desenvolvimento de doença cardiovascular.Os autores pretendem alertar para a necessidade da identificação precoce e tratamento das diversas comorbilidades associadas à psoríase e doença cardiovascular, assim como o tratamento correto e eficaz da psoríase, diminuindo a inflamação sistémica subjacente, e para a importância de uma abordagem multidisciplinar na tentativa de otimizar o diagnóstico, monitorização e tratamento das diversas comorbilidades, prevenindo os eventos cardiovasculares. Keywords: Psoriasis, Cardiovascular disease, Atherosclerosis, Inflammation, Cardiovascular risk factors, Multidisciplinary approach, Palavras‐chave: Psoríase, Doença cardiovascular, Aterosclerose, Inflamação, Fatores de risco cardiovasculares, Abordagem multidisciplinar
ISSN:2174-2049