The Impact Of Gout On Heart Disease

Content

• What Is The Difference Between Acute And Chronic Gout?
• Medications
• Things To Know About Chronic Gout
• Learn More About The Genes Associated With Gout
• How Gout Can Affect Your Lung Health

Sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint which of these factors is behind your gout attacks. Keeping a diary is one way to track your diet, medications, and health to help identify the cause of your symptoms. If you have symptoms of gout, you can start with a visit to your primary care doctor.

Seek medical care immediately if you have a fever and a joint is hot and inflamed, which can be a sign of infection. Gout usually affects the big toe, but it can occur in any joint. Other commonly affected joints include the ankles, knees, elbows, wrists and fingers. The pain is likely to be most severe within the first four to 12 hours after it begins. Uric acid – to detect elevated levels in the blood; if a diagnosis of gout is made, uric acid testing may be performed regularly to monitor levels. Some gout sufferers believe that if their discomfort from flare-ups is mild, there is no reason to consult a physician.

What Is The Difference Between Acute And Chronic Gout?

But sometimes the body produces too much uric acid or removes too little. In either case, the level of uric acid increases in the blood. Some medications are aimed at treating acute attacks by reducing pain and inflammation in the joints and other tissues. Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek first described the microscopic appearance of urate crystals in 1679. In 1848, English physician Alfred Baring Garrod identified excess uric acid in the blood as the cause of gout. Studies in the early 2000s found that other dietary factors are not relevant.

Key elements necessary to improve clinical outcomes in gout management include enhancing health professional and patient education as well as exploring novel urate-lowering agents. One of the most valuable health care professionals when assisting clinicians in the treatment of gout is the pharmacist. Pharmacists can appreciate that the optimal treatment for gout requires both adjunctive nonpharmacologic as well as pharmacologic interventional therapies . It is hoped that pharmacists will be empowered with this knowledge to assist the prescribing clinician to maximize patient outcomes when treating gout. First, to serve as a foundation, new insights into the pathogenesis of hyperuricemia and gout will be discussed.

Medications

Most importantly, diuretics may be necessary to control blood pressure and prevent strokes or heart attacks. Some drugs lower the uric acid level in your blood by increasing the amount of uric acid passed in your urine. They help dissolve tophi and prevent uric acid deposits in joints. The drugs commonly used to lower uric acid levels in gout are probenecid and sulfinpyrazone . Your doctor will adjust the amount of medication you take based on your blood uric acid level. When a normal level of uric acid is reached, no more crystals will be deposited in your joint.

Subscribe To Medicinenet's Arthritis Newsletter

, are sometimes used to reduce joint inflammation in people who cannot tolerate the other drugs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often effective in relieving pain and swelling in the joint. Sometimes additional pain relievers are needed to control pain.

What problems can gout cause?

Health problem linked to gout go beyond the joints, however. Excess uric acid can also damage kidneys, blood vessels, and other organs, and gout raises the risk for several disorders. These include kidney and cardiovascular disease, as well as diabetes, depression and sleep apnea.

For patient education information, see Gout and Gout and Diet. Online information and pamphlets on gout are also available from the Arthritis Foundation. In contrast, clinically recognized gout is extremely rare among Blacks living in Africa. In China, rates of gout have increased progressively since 1990. From 1990 to 2017, the prevalence increased 6.88% and the incidence increased 6.92%.

Colchicine or NSAIDs may be used for 1 to 2 months or longer to prevent another attack. Often lifestyle and dietary measures are enough to prevent attacks. Measures include not eating foods high in purines, not drinking alcohol, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Studies have also found an association between gout and having metabolic syndrome. This is a collection of health problems, including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, and low HDL cholesterol level. This syndrome increases a person's risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. Studies are being done to find out whether treating asymptomatic hyperuricemia in such people is beneficial.

Medications can also be used to either reduce the production of uric acid or improve the kidney’s ability to remove uric acid from the body . Purines are also found in certain foods, including red meat and organ meats, such as liver. Purine-rich seafood includes anchovies, sardines, mussels, scallops, trout and tuna.