- Heart disease and gallstones can be caused by obesity and diabetes
- They can change levels of bacteria in the gut – which is linked to the heart
- They are more common in overweight people, women and the over-40s
- But men have a higher chance of developing coronary heart disease
Rosie Taylor for the Daily Mail
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Having gallstones could increase your risk of having a heart attack, scientists have found.
The condition – where small stones made of cholesterol develop in the gall bladder – was linked to a 23 per cent higher likelihood of developing coronary heart disease.
US researchers examined data from seven studies which followed 842,553 patients and involved 51,123 cases of heart disease.
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Having gallstones increases the risk of having a heart attack by 23 per cent, according to new research from Tulane University in New Orleans
Both conditions are caused by similar factors, including obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and poor diet.
Having these causes in common was an obvious explanation for why gallstones were linked to developing heart problems.
But scientists found gallstone patients were actually more likely to go on to have heart disease if they were otherwise healthy, and were not obese, diabetic or had high blood pressure.
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The researchers did not identify why gallstone disease was linked to heart disease, but one theory is gallstones may affect bile acid secretion, which increases heart risk.
Gallstones can also change the level and function of bacteria in the gut, which has been shown to be linked to the heart.
Researchers said the study, published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, showed gallstone patients should be carefully assessed for their heart disease risk.
Senior author of the study Dr Lu Qi, Tulane University in New Orleans, said: ‘Our results suggest patients with gallstone disease should be monitored closely based on a careful assessment of both gallstone and heart disease risk factors.
‘Preventing gallstone disease may also benefit heart health.’
Both gallstones and coronary heart disease are caused by similar factors, including obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and poor diet
Gallstones are a common condition affecting around one in 10 adults in the UK.
The condition is more common in overweight or obese people, women and the over-40s.
Usually the condition goes unnoticed, but when gallstones become trapped in ducts inside the gallbladder they can cause a sudden and intense pain – or colic – for several hours and may need surgery to remove.
Heart disease is the UK’s biggest killer and is responsible for more than 73,000 deaths a year.
Men are generally more likely to develop the condition – it kills around one in six men compared with one in 10 women. But both sexes are equally likely to develop it from the age of 50.
It commonly causes chest pains known as angina, but can also lead to heart failure and heart attacks.
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