Type 2 Diabetes – Diabetics Are at High Risk for Both Gout and Atrial Fibrillation

The human heart has four chambers, the right and left atria and the right and left ventricles. When the top two chambers, the two atria, fibrillate or make feeble attempts to beat, blood moves through the heart but at a slower rate. Many people live with atrial fibrillation with no noticeable symptoms, others can be aware of an irregular pulse but no other symptoms. But then many people receive a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation due to…

• shortness of breath,
• chest pain,
• weakness and fatigue,
• dizziness and/or fainting with exercise

Hyperuricemia is the presence of too much uric acid in the blood. The condition is known as gout, a type of arthritis characterized by…

• severe pain, and
• joint tenderness

Type 2 diabetics are at high risk for both gout and atrial fibrillation. Researchers at University and Azienda Hospital Universitaria Integrata of Verona, Italy, compared blood uric acid levels and atrial fibrillation in Type 2 diabetics to learn whether a relationship might exist.

Their study, reported on in the journal Endocrinological Investigations in July 2015, included 842 participants with Type 2 diabetes…

• a total of 243 participants, or 28.9 percent had high uric acid levels, and
• 91 diabetic participants or 10.8 percent had atrial fibrillation.

A total of 20.6 percent of the participants with high uric acid levels had atrial fibrillation, compared to 7.1 percent of those with normal levels. To put it another way, individuals with high uric acid levels were 3.41 percent more likely to have atrial fibrillation than those with normal levels. From theses results it was concluded high uric acid levels were associated with an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation.

High levels of uric acid are…

• more than 7 mg/dl for men, and over
• 6 mg/dl for women.

Gouty arthritis often starts in the big toe. A burning pain at the lower toe joint is often described, worsening within 12 hours of onset. It can also affect the wrists, hands, fingers, knees, ankles, and feet. The joint can become red, swollen, and warm, and can lose its function during a flare-up. Inflammation is caused by uric acid crystals forming in joints. The acid is formed when molecules called purines are broken down by the body…

• seafood,
• steak, and organ meats are especially high in purines.
• alcoholic beverages, particularly beer, and beverages sweetened with fructose, a kind of sugar, also promote high levels of uric acid.

Drugs prescribed to help relieve gouty arthritis include…

• allopurinol and febuxostat are drugs used to decrease the amount of uric acid the body makes.
• anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen and cortisone can be used to cut down on inflammation.
• colchicine is effective for reducing pain.
• probenecid helps the kidneys to remove the offending acid from the body.