A medical study has revealed that millions of people may be living with hidden inflammation that slowly causes serious changes in their hearts.
Inflammation is the body's normal response to injuries, infections and other harmful factors. It helps wounds heal, supports recovery and fights disease.
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The problem begins when the body keeps producing inflammatory cells for long periods, even in the absence of any real threat.
In this case, a person may develop what is known as "chronic inflammation." Estimates indicate it affects more than 120 million Americans, according to the medical website The Healthy. Chronic inflammation is linked to a wide range of diseases and health conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease and some types of cancer. Recently, a team of 11 researchers affiliated with Imperial College London in Britain decided to conduct an in-depth study to examine the possible relationship between chronic inflammation and heart health.
Their efforts produced a study published in the European Heart Journal, which analyzed the health data of about 480,000 participants in the UK Biobank. The team measured levels of inflammation in the body using a marker known as "glycoprotein acetylation," a biomarker measured in the blood and used to assess "systemic inflammation," meaning inflammation that affects the body as a whole.
The researchers then examined the relationship between levels of this marker and the structure and function of the heart, as well as the likelihood of serious cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes, according to Sky News. The findings confirmed worrying links between long-term inflammation and heart health. The researchers found that high levels of chronic inflammation are associated with harmful changes in the structure of the heart and the way it performs its functions, as well as an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, even among people who had never been diagnosed with heart disease.
One of the study's key findings is that participants with the highest levels of chronic inflammation were 43% more likely to experience serious cardiovascular events than those with the lowest levels.
The researchers explained that people with high levels of chronic inflammation tend to have smaller heart chambers and thicker heart walls.
They also found that the hearts of these individuals do not fill with blood as efficiently as those of people with low levels of inflammation.
These structural and functional changes may affect the heart's ability to perform its tasks normally, and may over time contribute to the development of heart failure, a condition in which the heart is no longer able to pump blood efficiently enough to meet the body's needs.
Although the study's results highlight potential health risks, they do not necessarily mean that everyone with chronic inflammation will develop heart disease.
The study was observational, meaning it relied on analyzing data and observing relationships between different factors, without conducting an experiment that proves a direct causal link. The researchers were therefore able to identify an association between chronic inflammation and changes in the heart, but they could not prove that inflammation is the direct cause of these changes.
The researchers believe their findings may open the way to developing more precise tools for identifying people most at risk of heart and blood vessel disease.
