Last updated on 16th Oct 2021 - By Dwayne Michaels

How Abnormal URIC ACID affects heart?

Gout is caused by uric acid in the blood which deposit as crystals in the joints and set off the body's inflammatory immune response. Inflammation is part of a process that results in blood clots that can cause heart attack and stroke.

Uric acid is a waste product found in blood. It’s created when the body breaks down chemicals called purines. A high uric acid level occurs when your kidneys do not eliminate uric acid efficiently.

Things that may cause this slow down in the removal of uric acid include rich foods, having diabetes, taking certain diuretics and being overweight. Too much alcohol consumption may also be a reason.

The normal concentration range of uric acid (or hydrogen urate ion) in human blood is 25 to 80 mg/L for men and 15 to 60 mg/L for women. An individual can have serum values as high as 96 mg/L and not have gout.

In humans, about 70% of daily uric acid disposal occurs via the kidneys, and in 5–25% of humans, impaired renal (kidney) excretion leads to hyperuricemia. Normal excretion of uric acid in the urine is 250 to 750 mg per day

Hyperuricemia (high levels of uric acid), which induces gout, has various potential origins:

• Diet may be a factor. High intake of dietary purine, high-fructose corn syrup, and table sugar can increase levels of uric acid.
• Certain drugs, such as thiazide diuretics, can increase blood uric acid levels by interfering with renal clearance.
• Fasting or rapid weight loss can temporarily elevate uric acid levels.
• Serum uric acid can be elevated by reduced excretion via the kidneys.
• Tumor lysis syndrome, a metabolic complication of certain cancers or chemotherapy, due to nucleobase and potassium release into the plasma

Did you know? Not getting enough sleep is linked to Heart attack, Depression, High Blood Pressure, Obesity and Diabetes.

Excess blood uric acid can induce gout, a painful condition resulting from needle-like crystals of uric acid precipitating in joints, capillaries, skin, and other tissues.

Gout can occur where serum uric acid levels are as low as 6 mg per 100 mL (357 μmol/L), but an individual can have serum values as high as 9.6 mg per 100 mL (565 mol/L) and not have gout.

High uric acid level can be managed and flares in the joint pain controlled and stopped with a long-term program of disease management. Your doctor can prescribe medications that dissolve the deposits of uric acid crystals.

If youre having a gout attack, medication can be used to reduce the inflammation, pain and swelling. You should drink plenty of water and other fluids, but avoid alcohol and harmful soft drinks. Ice and elevation are helpful.

Without treatment, an acute gout attack will be at its worst between 12 and 24 hours after it began. A person can expect to recover within 12 weeks without treatment, but there may be significant pain during this period.