Psoriasis Plus Hypertension Equals Greater Need for Heart Surgery

Patients with psoriasis and hypertension need more cardiovascular procedures and surgeries than hypertensive patients without psoriasis, a new study in the Journal of Dermatologysuggests.

In 5.62 years of follow-up, individuals with psoriasis and hypertension were 28 percent more likely to need a cardiovascular procedure than those without psoriasis.

“Our study alerts physicians to the likelihood that, compared with general hypertensive patients, with concurrent hypertension and psoriasis will likely require more intensive assessment for cardiovascular interventions and a more aggressive hypertensive regimen to achieve adequate control,” says senior author Tsen-Fang Tsai, MD, a dermatologist at the National Taiwan University Hospital, in a news release.