Heart Health in Schizophrenia: The Impact of Symptom Frequency

Did you know that people with schizophrenia could be at a higher risk for heart issues? A recent study had some interesting findings. They looked at the heart's left ventricle, which can increase in size, and this is not good news. This issue, called cardiac hypertrophy, can lead to heart failure and even death. But why does this happen in people with schizophrenia? The study involved 121 adults, some with schizophrenia and others without it. They used a special kind of imaging called echocardiography to check their hearts. They found that people with schizophrenia had a larger left ventricle in relation to their body size compared to healthy people.Plus, the more severe symptoms they had, the bigger their left ventricle was. This was true even when considering factors like age, when symptoms started, and weight. Traditional heart risk factors, like high blood pressure or cholesterol, didn't seem to play a big role here. So, the frequency of symptoms in schizophrenia might be a hidden factor in heart health. This is important because cardiac hypertrophy is a big risk for heart failure and death. We need to dig deeper into why this happens and how we can help.