Aortic stenosis patients had a markedly higher prevalence of precedent gout than age-matched controls, according to a recent study. Whether gout is a marker of, or a risk factor for, the development of aortic stenosis remains uncertain. Researchers performed a retrospective case-control study where aortic stenosis cases were identified through a review of outpatient transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) reports. Charts were reviewed to identify diagnoses of gout and the earliest dates of gout and aortic stenosis diagnosis. They found:

• Among 1,085 patients who underwent TTE, 112 aortic stenosis cases were identified.
• Cases and non-aortic stenosis controls (n=224) were similar in age and cardiovascular comorbidities.
• A history of gout was present in 21.4% (n=24) of aortic stenosis subjects compared with 12.5% (n=28) of controls.
• Multivariate analysis retained significance only for gout.
• Among subjects with aortic stenosis and gout, gout diagnosis preceded aortic stenosis diagnosis by 5.8 ± 1.6 years.