Family History of Gout Associated with Heart Dysfunction in Gout Patients

A recent study conducted at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College uncovered a notable connection between the family history of gout and left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction in patients with primary gout. The findings were published in the International Journal of General Medicine offer new insights into the hereditary factors influencing cardiac health in gout sufferers.

The research involved a total of 284 patients spanned from September 2020 to July 2022 and meticulously gathered data on the family history of gout along with general information and laboratory markers in patients. Through advanced echocardiography, the team led by Wen Wen measured parameters that were indicative of LV diastolic function to assess heart health. The analysis revealed that patients with a familial link to gout showed significantly altered diastolic function parameters that point towards an inherited predisposition to cardiac complications along with gout.

The results of this study revealed that parameters such as the ratio of peak early to late mitral diastolic velocity (E/A) and velocities indicates diastolic motion of the septal and lateral mitral annulus (Sepe’ and Late’, respectively) were markedly lower in patients with a family history of gout. These individuals expressed an increased left atrial volume index (LAVI) and E/e’ ratio which suggests a predisposition towards more severe cardiac dysfunctions. Also, 41.6% of patients with a familial gout history showed grade ≥ 2 LV diastolic insufficiency which is significantly higher than their counterparts without such a history (12.3%).