Imaging tests help reveal heart risks in patients with psoriasis

Patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis – collectively referred to as psoriatic disease – are at increased risk of heart disease. A new study published in Arthritis and rheumatology indicates that ultrasound imaging of carotid arteries may reveal to what extent patients' arteries are clogged and indicate their risk of experiencing future cardiovascular events.

The results suggest that combining these imaging data with clinical and laboratory measurements of traditional cardiovascular risk factors could improve risk predictions and identify which psoriasis patients might benefit from intensive heart protection treatments.

"Ultrasound is widely used in rheumatology to detect joint inflammation." Our study suggests that ultrasound can also be used to identify patients at high cardiovascular risk who might be overlooked by conventional methods such as risk score of Framingham, "said lead author Lihi Eder, MD, Ph.D., from the University of Toronto. "This will allow early intervention, such as the initiation of lipid-lowering therapy, which will ultimately reduce the risk of occurrence of cardiovascular events."