Study indicates higher risk of myocardial infarction, heart failure in multiple sclerosis patients

Germany: Data from a recent study has suggested that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be at a higher risk for heart failure and myocardial infarction (MI). The study appears in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.

Several previous studies have described an association between MS and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the studies showed a high risk of bias due to the potential cardiotoxicity of disease-modifying treatments for MS, cardiovascular risk factors, and further sources of bias. Hence, the question of whether MS is a risk factor for CVDs remains elusive. 

Against the above background, Daniel Rapp, Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany, and colleagues aimed to investigate the association between MS and acquired heart diseases in a systematic review and meta-analysis of non-randomized studies.

The researchers searched the online databases up to 5 October 2020 and included longitudinal studies comparing incident heart diseases between people with and without MS. ROBINS-E and the GRADE approach were used to assess the risk of bias and the certainty of evidence, respectively.