A recent study from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the European Heart Journal, revealed that individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a slightly higher risk of heart failure up to two decades after diagnosis.
The researchers analyzed data from over 80,000 IBD patients, including those with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or unclassified IBD, and compared them with 400,000 individuals from the general population as part of the ESPRESSO study.
Their analysis found a 19% increased risk of heart failure among IBD patients over the 20-year study period.
Additionally, the study identified older age, lower educational attainment, and pre-existing cardiovascular conditions at the time of IBD diagnosis as factors associated with the highest risk of heart failure.
The potential mechanisms linking IBD and heart failure include chronic inflammation, which raises the chances of arrhythmias, as well as anemia, infections, surgery, and steroid therapy associated with IBD, all of which can increase the risk of heart failure.
Here is the link to the study:
Sun, J., et al. (2024). Risk of heart failure in inflammatory bowel disease: a Swedish population-based study. European Heart Journal. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae338