Psoriasis and Heart Disease – Psoriasis is NOT Only Skin Deep!

Psoriasis and Heart Disease

Psoriasis and Heart Disease.
The past few years have yielded a mountain of research that suggests psoriasis by itself is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Increased incidences of stroke and heart attack have been recorded in patients suffering from the skin disease.

Psoriasis and Heart Disease
If you have psoriasis, check with your doctor about possible increased risk for heart disease.

The high amounts of inflammation caused by the immune system throughout the body, and not just the skin, is believed to be responsible for this finding. Often this is compounded by the fact that many people with psoriasis smoke tobacco and are overweight.

Ensuring that your primary care doctor knows of your psoriasis and is helping you modify your cardiac risk factors is imperative. If you know someone with psoriasis, please pass this information along as many doctors and patients are unaware of the link between psoriasis and heart disease.

For those not familiar with psoriasis, it is defined on Wikipedia as “a chronic immune-mediated disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious.” Click here to read the full article on Wikipedia about psoriasis.

If you think you may have psoriasis or are interested in psoriasis treatment, click here to request an appointment.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.