Kidney Stones and Heart Disease

A study has found evidence that older women with kidney stones may have increased chances of developing cardiovascular disease. The physicians found that cardiovascular disease was far more prevalent in women with kidney stones. Medpage Today reported on this research, "Myocardial infarction, angina, and congestive heart failure all occurred significantly more often in women with a history of nephrolithiasis, Brian Eisner, M.D., of the University of California San Francisco, reported at the American Urological Association meeting. "Historically, it has been assumed that kidney stones form in the urine," said Dr. Eisner. "We now realize there are a lot of different disease processes that may have a common pathway with kidney stone disease." Patients at high risk, those of which in this case have kidney stones and are older women, should be ones getting regular annual heart scan checks to assure they are tackling early detection and prevention methods.