A large UK study found chronic inflammation from stress and lifestyle quietly damages the heart, increasing heart attack and stroke risk by 43% in those with the highest levels. This inflammation causes hidden structural changes in the heart.
Chronic inflammation linked to everyday stress, socioeconomic disadvantage and lifestyle factors may quietly damage the heart years before cardiovascular symptoms appear, according to a large study of nearly 480,000 UK adults.
Researchers from the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) and Imperial College London found that people with the highest levels of inflammation had a 43 per cent higher risk of heart attack and stroke than those with the lowest levels. The study, published on Eureka Alert! described by researchers as the largest of its kind, analysed UK Biobank data using a blood marker called glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA), along with heart imaging and genetic data. The researchers found that higher inflammation levels were associated with structural changes in the heart, including thickened heart walls, smaller heart chambers and poorer heart filling. Such changes can develop silently for years before potentially progressing to heart failure.
'Millions could be living with hidden inflammation'
Professor Declan O’Regan, British Heart Foundation Chair of Cardiovascular AI at Imperial College London and Head of the Computational Cardiac Imaging Group at the LMS, said, “Our study, which is the largest of its kind, suggests that millions of people could be living with hidden inflammation, which is slowly changing their heart and causing long-term damage - increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.” He added, “Chronic inflammation is complicated, but we know it’s tied to our health and driven by a range of lifestyle and economic factors- meaning people may be at more risk just because of their surroundings, their economic status, their family’s health and their lifestyle.”
Link to Social Factors and Genetics
The study found that higher inflammation was strongly associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and psychological distress, alongside established risk factors such as smoking and excess body fat. The researchers said the findings suggest chronic inflammation could be one biological pathway through which everyday stresses, including poverty and mental health issues, have effects that increase cardiovascular risk.
“The surprising thing was how much social factors and mental health are linked to inflammation and damage to the heart - as well as more well-known risk factors like smoking and inactivity,” O’Regan said. He also noted a strong genetic component, saying, “There was also a strong genetic factor, with some people being naturally more resilient or susceptible to the inflammatory damage that comes from different lifestyles.”
Potential for Anti-Inflammatory Treatments
Chronic inflammation refers to the long-term, low-level activation of the body's immune system. It has been linked to conditions including cancer and diabetes and is increasingly recognised as a factor in heart disease. The study also identified inflammatory proteins from the interleukin-1 and TNF families as likely drivers of the heart damage. Several of these proteins are already being targeted by drugs in clinical trials, raising the possibility that anti-inflammatory treatments could help prevent cardiovascular disease before symptoms develop.
The researchers said combining inflammation blood tests with genetic risk scores could potentially help identify people who may benefit from early intervention. However, they stressed that genetic susceptibility or exposure to adverse circumstances does not mean a person is destined to develop heart disease, and that much can be done to prevent long-term inflammation.
A 'Darker Side' to Inflammation
Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said, "Inflammation is part of the body’s healing process, but there is also a darker side to it. This large-scale study found people with higher levels of inflammation experienced silent changes to the structure of their hearts and had a higher risk of major cardiac events, including heart attacks and strokes.” He added, "The research provides valuable insights into how our genes and lifestyle factors, such as smoking, poor mental health and socioeconomic status, can converge to trigger inflammation."
Williams said the study also identified inflammatory proteins that “appear to play a key role in the heart changes linked to chronic inflammation”, adding that “it is to be hoped that anti-inflammatory medicines could become an important tool in preventing cardiovascular disease.”
“These findings reinforce the importance of tackling the causes of inflammation and poor cardiovascular health, while also supporting people to make lifestyle changes that can help protect their hearts," he said. The study was funded by the Medical Research Council and British Heart Foundation, with additional support from the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, a translational research partnership between Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London. The findings were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. (ANI)
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