Does carpal tunnel syndrome, a typical neurological condition, have any connection to heart failure? A latest study says there may be a possible link between the 2 seemingly unrelated diseases.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the vital common issues that affect the hand. It’s attributable to the narrowing of the carpal tunnel or the passageway within the wrist, leading to increased pressure throughout the median nerve. The patients suffer pain, numbness and general weakness within the hand and wrist.

Heart failure, however, is a condition that happens when the center doesn’t pump enough blood. It could be attributable to coronary heart disease, heart inflammation, hypertension, cardiomyopathy or an irregular heartbeat.

Within the study, published in JAMA Network Open, a bunch of researchers found that elderly patients with carpal tunnel syndrome are 39% more prone to develop heart failure (HF) compared with those without the condition during a 10-year follow-up.

“The increased rate of HF amongst patients with carpal tunnel syndrome requires attention because HF is a typical disease related to high mortality. Early diagnosis of HF is a key to successful treatment, particularly for [transthyretin] cardiac amyloidosis, which has been related to carpal tunnel syndrome in a recent study,” the researchers said.

Researchers consider the link between the 2 diseases may be that patients with carpal tunnel syndrome have an increased build-up of faulty proteins called fibrils, much like that of transthyretin (ATTR) cardiac amyloidosis patients who face heart failure.

In a retrospective study, researchers analyzed data from 81,898 adults in Germany with an initial diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome from 2005 to 2020. Ten years later, 6.2% of people that didn’t have carpal tunnel syndrome and eight.4% of individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome were diagnosed with heart failure.

Within the regression evaluation, researchers found an association between carpal tunnel syndrome and subsequent heart failure diagnosis in patients aged 60 and above.

Nonetheless, researchers caution that their study doesn’t indicate that carpal tunnel syndrome directly causes heart failure. The study also doesn’t suggest that individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome must panic and check for heart failure. “These two diagnoses are very different and there isn’t any direct link between them,” Karel Kostev, study writer said.

Published by Medicaldaily.com