Most likely, you read it somewhere. Gout, uric acid and cardiovascular diseases, for some reason unknown to many, are related to each other. Both non-empirical and statistical studies points to a causal relationship between the two, such as a study that reappraises the causal relationship between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular diseases.
With those facts in hand, we still find it hard to imagine the link between the two. This article aims to explain the relationship between chronic heart failure and uric acid level.
Chronic Heart Failure
Chronic heart failure, as the word “chronic” suggests, is a lifetime condition. Generally, heart failure is the inability of the heart to supply sufficient amount of blood to the body. A variety of medical conditions can cause heart failure. Below will be a list of heart failure causes associated with uric acid, but first you must understand a few basic concept:
Acidity
If you suffer from gout, it is a guarantee that you suffer from hyperuricemia as well. Hence, it is a given that your body has an almost unlimited supply of uric acid. While this may seem cool, it is not. An unlimited supply of uric acid means an unlimited supply of free radicals in the body! More uric acid means higher acidity, and higher acidity means higher concentration of freely floating Hydrogen atoms/ ions, the perfect free radical!
Acidity = Free radicals?
Yep. In basic chemistry, acidity is, or pH level, stands for potential of Hydrogen. This means that uric acid has lots of Hydrogen, which only has one electron.
An atom is supposed to have an even number of electron (2,4,6,8.) If it has an odd number of electron, the atom will look for a pair for the valence (unpaired) electron. It does this by stealing electrons from other atoms, or by combining with other atoms to create a shared pair. If it so happened that the free radical stole an electron, the victim will have an unpaired electron hence making it another free radical and wreaking havoc by itself!
The functionalities of a molecule or an atom relies on its composition (number of electrons, number of atoms) hence free radicals can alter the composition and functionalities of a cell. In a sense, too much uric acid in the bloodstream can corrode the cell walls!
Acidity and Thick Blood
The cell walls are supposed to be consistently negatively charged. This way, the blood cells have the same charge thus repelling each other. With the interference of free radicals, the cell walls are filled with positively charged Hydrogen ions. Hence, some of them becomes dominantly positive in charge attracting other cells, coagulating. This is the reason why the blood of gout and hyperuricemia sufferers are quite dark and dense.
The TERRIFYING List
Take note that the following are related in uric acid, acidosis and thick blood. Those causes not related to them are not included.
1.) A previous heart attack (Myocardial Infarction) - if a patient suffered from a heart attack before, he has an increased chance of suffering from chronic heart failure. Myocardial Infarction can be caused by either of the following:
a. Atherosclerosis – this is caused by plaque deposition to the outer arterial walls. Plaque is also known as atheroma. It is caused by the accumulation of degenerative materials in the tunica intima or the inner layer of the arterial walls. One such degenerative material is the macrophage, the type of white blood cell designed to devour stuff that does not belong to your body, including those “deformed” stuff that no longer seem to belong to your body. When cells are injured in the arterial walls, macrophages come in to attack ingesting lipids. If there are too much lipids for them to ingest, they become bloated transforming into foam cells. Over time they will accumulate along with other deposits. Here is the weird part: macrophages are not supposed to enter the outer arterial wall. How do they end up entering the area? The answer lies in the cause:
i. Endothelial dysfunction - the macrophages cannot reach the outer arterial walls because the layer of endothelial cells. Aside from the spacing between them, they are negatively charged as well thus repelling other cells, proteins and other negative ions that are not supposed to reach that place. The question now is, what caused endothelial dysfunction?
1. Free Radicals and Thick Blood – as the free-radical-filled thick blood traverses the body, free radicals damages the endothelial cells. They also alter the charge of the endothelial cells hence increasing permeability, permitting macrophages to enter now.
ii. Lack of Red Blood Cells – very low RBC count can cause tissue death hence heart attack. This is caused by:
1.) Defect in the Bone Marrow – RBCs are manufactured in the bone marrow, hence bone marrow damage can lower red blood cell count.
a. Free Radicals and Thick Blood – once again, it is the destructive power of the free radicals that caused this.
2.) Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity and Cancer – all of these can contribute to cardiovascular failure. In fact they are known risk factors. There are two things related to uric acid that can contribute to these degenerative diseases:
1. Uric Acid itself – Uric acid is a known risk factor for all these diseases.
2. Free Radicals and Thick Blood (Once again) – these diseases are products of cell destruction. For instance, diabetes is usually a result of unresponsiveness of insulin receptors.
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