Fatty Liver Disease May Cause Heart Disease and Vice Versa

Bi-directional association between fatty liver and cardiovascular disease is due to the common risk factors they share, like obesity, high blood pressure.

Fatty liver disease can lead to increased cardiovascular disease risk and vice versa. Due to the increased prevalence of obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has become the most common liver disease in the U.S., affecting 20-30 percent of the adult population. //

Obesity is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease -- so both diseases exist in many patients. Previous studies have shown that there is a link between fatty liver and cardiovascular disease however it is not fully understood if fatty liver disease precedes or develops after cardiovascular disease.

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‘Within six years, those with fatty liver disease developed hypertension, type 2 diabetes which are risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.’

Using data from participants in the Framingham Heart Study, researchers saw that individuals with fatty liver disease developed cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes within six years. In a parallel analysis, individuals with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high triglycerides had a higher likelihood of developing fatty liver disease.

"In our study, we observed a bi-directional association between fatty liver and cardiovascular disease," explained corresponding author Michelle Long, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), who also is a gastroenterologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC).

"We observed that fatty liver was an important factor in the development of high blood pressure and diabetes and the opposite also stands true - various cardiovascular diseases were associated with the development of fatty liver disease over six years," she added.

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Hypertension is defined as blood pressure is greater than equal to 140/90 mm Hg. Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by increased blood sugar.

Long believes this study highlights the need to develop both preventative and treatment strategies for fatty liver disease in order to improve the cardiovascular health of all people.

Source-Medindia

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