Inflammatory bowel disease and the risk of cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which are well recognised as chronic systemic and immune-mediated conditions that frequently involve extraintestinal manifestations. Although comorbidities have long been the subject of research in other chronic inflammatory diseases, this concept is also emerging in IBD. Many pathologies have been linked to IBD, including cardiovascular disease, which is the main cause of death in developed countries. IBD patients are at increased risk of conditions such as early atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction or venous thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism. The aim of this review is to make an approximation of the physiopathology of the different manifestations of cardiovascular disease in patients with IBD and how to prevent them.

Keywords: Arterioesclerosis; Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular diseases; Colitis ulcerosa; Crohn's disease; Enfermedad de Crohn; Enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal; Enfermedades cardiovasculares; Inflammatory bowel disease; Ulcerative colitis.