Patients with metabolic syndrome who have hyperuricemia are at increased risk of myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death, according to a report published in the Dec. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
FRIDAY, Dec. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) who have hyperuricemia are at increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and sudden cardiac death, according to a report published in the Dec. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
Yafim Brodov, M.D., Ph.D., from the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel, and colleagues studied 2,963 patients aged 45 to 74 with coronary artery disease. Of the total number of patients, 1,410 had MetS. All the patients were followed for an average of six years to determine the incidence of the primary end point, defined as the first occurrence of an MI or sudden cardiac death.
The researchers found that 20.1 percent of MetS patients had hyperuricemia, compared to 11.4 percent of those without MetS. Additionally, MetS patients with hyperuricemia suffered higher rates of MI and sudden cardiac death (20.1 percent) compared to MetS patients without hyperuricemia (15.3 percent). The researchers determined that MetS patients with hyperuricemia had a 45 percent risk of suffering an MI or sudden cardiac death.
"The major finding of this study is that the incidence of the primary end point in patients with MetS appears to be higher than in patients without MetS, especially if the patients are hyperuricemic," the authors write.