According to a sizable new study, common allergy causes that have you wheezing and watery-eyed could soon join the list of heart disease risk factors, the number one killer of men and women in the United States. The researchers are quick to point out that the findings do not mean that these allergies cause heart disease.
Researchers also can't tell us if allergies play a role in the development of heart disease, though the association between the two is intriguing.
At least one in every five Americans suffers from an allergy, either to foods (peanuts or milk for example) to animals, or the well known seasonal variety (grass, weeds, pollen or molds). These unfortunate souls know all about the discomfort of the symptoms - itchy eyes, sneezing, nasal congestion and wheezing - that can sap your strength, destroy your concentration and leave you feeling miserable.
The new study examined data on over 8,600 men and women over 20 who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1988 and 1994.
The team saw that typical allergies and heart disease often were paired up, 18% of the subjects reported wheezing, another 46% dealt with bouts of stuffiness or itchy, watery eyes. These symptoms are known to medicine as rhinoconjunctivitis.
Heart disease appeared in 6% of subjects overall, with 13% of wheezing cases, 5% of rhinoconjunctivitis cases and 4% of those without allergy symptoms. After accounting for other factors associated with heart conditions (like age and asthma) the team saw a 2.6-fold increased risk of heart problems for those with wheezing, a 40% greater risk with rhinoconjunctivitis as compared to those with no allergy symptoms. The association was seen most often in females under 50 years old.
It's believed that the intermittent inflammation that is part of allergies might lead to thickening of artery walls and in time, disease. Another possibility is that some of us carry genes that are linked to developing both allergies and heart disease.
Even if, after much more study, allergies come to be linked to heart disease, it's not clear that treating allergy symptoms will impact heart disease in any way.
Others point out that common allergy symptoms are also very common in asthma. These latest findings are consistent with earlier work that found a significant association of self-reported asthma and later risk of heart problems, particularly in women.
The link between inflammatory conditions like asthma (and allergies) and heart disease in women, but not men, has also been found in work conducted by other research teams. The suggestion is that younger women may have a stronger inflammatory response when faced with allergies than men. Estrogen may also be involved.
Another possibility is that those who have heart disease are dealing with respiratory symptoms because of their disease. As you can see, it's still much too early to jump to conclusions or offer advice.
Interestingly, the subjects in the study identified as allergy sufferers had other heart risk factors (smoking, obesity, high blood pressure) compared to the allergy-free subjects. Medicine already knows these factors are important. So if you're worried about your own risk, take steps now to change the risk factors under your control - don't smoke, eat healthy, exercise regularly and get regular checkups so you can keep your body, and your heart, healthy.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kirsten_Whittaker
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