IBD Linked to Poor Outcomes After Myocardial Infarction

A recent Danish cohort study published online in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes showed that patients afflicted with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at risk for poor prognoses following an initial myocardial infarction (MI).

Søren Lund Kristensen, MD, PhD, from the Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte in Denmark, and colleagues examined the effect of active IBD on the outcomes of 86,790 patients after experiencing MI. Of the total participants, 1,030 patients suffered from and were hospitalized for IBD, and their disease was categorized as “flare, persistent activity, or remission.”

According to the team, compared with patients without IBD, the odds ratio for mortality during hospitalization for MI or within a month of discharge was 3.29 (95% CI 1.98-5.45) for patients with IBD experiencing a flare, whereas only 1.62 (95% CI 0.95-2.77) for those afflicted with the tenacious condition.

It is interesting to note, research reported that IBD patients who were in remission during MI did not possess a greater mortality risk than non-IBD patients.

The findings from this study suggesting active IBD is associated with cardiovascular outcomes further backs the idea that both disease processes are rooted by inflammation, which also includes increases in C-reactive protein as well as local appearance of cells from both the adaptive and innate immune systems.

While a myriad of recent studies have surmised a causal relationship between IBD and atherothrombotic events and new onset cardiovascular disease, Kristen commented, “No previous studies of post-MI prognosis in patients with IBD have been reported, but the association between IBD and worsened prognosis after MI is in line with findings in other chronic inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.”

Kristensen and his team concluded, “The results support evidence indicating that increased clinical surveillance and treatment aimed at reduction of cardiovascular risk by reducing length and number of flares in patients with IBD may be warranted, especially for patients with prolonged or repeated disease activity.”