Shoulder pain may indicate risk to the heart

A new study warns that a shoulder problem may be due to some heart disease risk factors and not just physical strain.

‘If someone has rotator cuff problems, it could be a sign that there is something else going on. They may need to manage risk factors for heart disease,’ said the study’s lead author Kurt Hegmann, Professor at University of Utah School of Medicine in the US.

The researchers studied data from 1,226 skilled labourers.

Those who had more heart disease risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes were more likely to have shoulder trouble.

Those with the most severe collection of risk factors were 4.6 times more likely than those with none of the risk factors to have had shoulder joint pain.

They were also 6 times more likely to have a second shoulder condition, rotator cuff tendinopathy.

The findings published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine showed that those witch mid-level heart risk were less likely to have had either shoulder condition.

‘What we think we are seeing is that high force can accelerate rotator cuff issues but is not the primary driver,’ Hegmann said.

‘Cardiovascular disease risk factors could be more important than job factors for incurring these types of problems,’ he added.

It is possible that controlling blood pressure and other heart risk factors could alleviate shoulder discomfort, too, Hegmann noted.

A shoulder pain may be a danger sign for the heart. Think of a heart risk if shoulder pains!