Hello Gout Education,
The Gout Education Society is committed to raising awareness of gout—the most common form of inflammatory arthritis and how to manage it for the long term. The Society offers a variety of free, unbiased resources at GoutEducation.org to help you learn more about gout and treatment options.
Hearts and love are most commonly thought of together during February. But what about hearts and gout? This month, the Society wants to bring attention to connection of gout with heart health, related conditions and share helpful educational resources.
The two are interconnected as the root cause for gout, uric acid, is a risk factor for both hypertension and heart disease. Uric acid has also been linked to coronary disease, including heart attack and stroke. Furthermore, gout flares or inflammation can worsen heart disease, which in turn can limit treatment options, like corticosteroids.
Those with gout can reduce the burden of the disease on their body and protect their heart by lowering their uric acid level to 6.0 mg/dL or below. Additionally, it's important to monitor metabolic levels such as blood pressure and cholesterol and ensure they are within healthy ranges. By addressing the burden of gout on the body and improving one's underlying well-being, the risk for related heart health conditions can be reduced.
Your doctor can help you with both of these by prescribing uric acid lowering medications, such as allopurinol or febuxostat and recommending diet/lifestyle modifications.
Have any questions or need resources? Email us: info@gouteducation.org.
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