Uric Acid: A new predictor for Heart Disease?

Eswar Krishnan and Jeremy Sokolove in the journal Current Opinion in Rheumatol reviewed the recently published data on elevated blood uric acid levels and cardiovascular disease.  Evidence has accumulated in prospective observational studies that link hyperuricemia with the risk of hypertension. Newer data confirmed the link between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular mortality. The use of allopurinol has been shown to be associated with reduced mortality risk and with reduced blood pressure in short-term randomized controlled trials.  The available evidence has established a link between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular disease and this may be causal. One can start using serum uric acid concentration as an inexpensive cardiovascular risk marker.