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People who have battled malaria may be around 30 per cent more likely to suffer heart failure, research suggests. Danish scientists analysed more than 3,980 malaria cases that occurred between 1994 and 2017. Of these patients, 69 (1.7 per cent) developed heart failure 11 years later. The researchers warn this is ‘very high compared to the general population’.
Malaria is thought to affect the function and structure of the heart’s muscle, known as the myocardium, the researchers claim. The infection may also trigger cardiac inflammation, which causes a build-up of scar tissue that can eventually lead to heart failure. Dr Philip Brainin, lead author and postdoctoral research fellow at Herlev-Gentofte University Hospital, said: ‘We have seen an increase in the incidence of malaria cases.
‘And what is intriguing is we have seen the same increase in cardiovascular disease in the same regions. ‘I think, in light of these findings, there is room for much more research into a potentially overlooked complication to malaria, which could be development of cardiac disease or heart failure. ‘And I hope these findings will be a catalyst for future research into this field.’
Heart failure occurs when the organ does not pump blood around the body as effectively as it should, which can cause sudden death. Around 920,000 people in the UK have been diagnosed with the condition, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellent (NICE). And in the US, 5.7 million adults have heart failure, Center for Disease Control and Prevention statistics show.
When it comes to malaria, an estimated 219 million cases, and 435,000 deaths, are thought to have occurred worldwide in 2017 alone, according to the World Health Organization. Fatalities are generally caused by an untreated infection triggering cerebral malaria. This causes the small blood vessels in the brain to become blocked, leading to seizures, brain damage and coma.
Although surviving malaria has been linked to poor heart health, the extent of the damage was unclear. To learn more, the researchers used nationwide registries to identify patients who became infected between January 1994 and January 2017. Of the 3,989 cases, 40 per cent were caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. This is the most common malaria species worldwide and the most likely to be fatal.
Over the 11 year follow-up, 69 of the patients developed heart failure, which is ‘very high compared to the general population’, the researchers wrote. Sixty eight also died from ‘cardiovascular’ causes, which the team ‘considered within [the] normal range’. ‘Thirty per cent is a high number, but you also have to understand it is a relatively small study, which is a limitation,’ Dr Brainin said.
‘As of right now the results of this study are more hypothesis-generating for future studies. ‘The study is being presented today at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Paris. Although unclear exactly how malaria affects the heart, the infection has been linked to inflammation and high blood pressure.
‘I think these findings are quite interesting not only from an epidemiological perspective but also from the medical perspective,’ Dr Brainin said. ‘If malaria is potentially linked to cardiac disease it could represent a therapeutic target we could use to control and prevent cardiac disease in these regions.’ Until further research is available, the scientists advise doctors reduce their patients’ heart disease risk by treating obesity, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
Source: Dailymail