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Crp And Celiac, Cardiomyopathy Too?

Lisa16

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Lisa16 Collaborator
Lisa16
Posted

Hi-- does anybody know what the realtionship is between a high CRP count and celiac disease? Also, can celiac cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart muscle?) How about difficult to control hypertension (okay--difficult to the point that both a nephrologist and a cardiologist have kind of given up)?

I have done a preliminary internet search and it looks like a CRP test is part of the standard celiac test panel because of the inflammation. Is this correct? Early bloodwork showed the IgA levels elevated 60 units, and a CRP of .136, but no other bloodwork was done. My first biopsy 8 years ago was negative. I was diagnosed with IBSD at 17 and I have been sick 23 years.

I ask because they arrived at a diagnosis through DH (not my regular doctor, who missed it). It is definitive, and I am just starting to attempt to figure out the big medical picture. I have had such phenomenal results after eliminating gluten (nerve pain gone, joint pain gone, insomnia gone, etc...) that I wonder if (or rather, I am hoping that) some of my other medical mysteries might be goners too.

I have also lost confidence in my regluar doctor and I am not sure what to do. I have not seen him post diagnosis.

Advice? Knowledge to share?

Lisa

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celiac-mommy Collaborator
celiac-mommy
Posted

I've not heard of celiac causing HCM, but I will ask one of our cardiologists today and re-post. If you have had uncontrolled hypertension for a number of years, this can cause significant thickening of the myocardium and look like HCM. This I see daily, unfortunately. You have to find a med that will work for you, many have to go thru a lot to find the right 'fit' for them. If your Dr isn't helpful, find another! I'll get back to you on the celiac/HCM thing...

nikki-uk Enthusiast
nikki-uk
Posted

Before diagnosis my husband had a very high CRP count (also high ESR) but it slowly went down after going gluten-free.

It is still quite high (for the average person) but this is because he has arthritis as well (which also improved once he was gluten-free)

:)

celiac-mommy Collaborator
celiac-mommy
Posted
Hi-- does anybody know what the realtionship is between a high CRP count and celiac disease? Also, can celiac cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart muscle?) How about difficult to control hypertension (okay--difficult to the point that both a nephrologist and a cardiologist have kind of given up)?

Advice? Knowledge to share?

Lisa, I spoke with our head cardiologist/medical director and he is not aware of any correlation between celiac and hypertrophic CM, He doesn't believe there's a link at all, but like I said before, a long history of hypertension will cause the heart muscle to thicken. Hope this helps some.

Lisa16 Collaborator
Lisa16
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for checking. That was very kind and thoughtful of you. You went above and beyond.

The HCM is in the "borderline" category from the echo.

I did find an article on the internet that talks about gluten getting deposited in the pericardium (similar to DH). It is an article attached to this site, but I am not sure if it is written by a doctor. Here is the link:

https://www.celiac.com/articles/651/1/Heart...Yick/Page1.html

I also found some references to celiac and portal hypertension in pubmed, but they seem to be isolated cases.

There is some very conflicting information out there and I am a little confused.

My regular doctor (internal med) referred me to a Nephrologist, who ran out of options because I am very allergic or have extreme reactions to the meds (maybe some had gluten) and sent me back. Then I got sent to a cardiologist-- same deal. The last tried was minoxidil. Over eleven years they have eliminated entire classes of meds. Some have made me so sick I could not get up.

Impasse.

The numbers, at highest are 150/100s--not soaringly high. At best 130/80s. Currently untreated. That's why I had a spark of hope.

I was really praying the gluten free diet would help.

I guess the next step will be to go to Mayo-- that is the next stop on their list.

Lisa

neesee Apprentice
neesee
Posted

I take Diovan and Toprol for my hbp and ischemia. I'm sure you could find something you can take. You have to get used to some of the side effects of medications sometimes. You need to get serious about your blood pressure!

My son has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He also has a posterior fossa sub arachnoid cyst and high blood pressure. I have no idea what caused his health problems. He's 28 yrs old with no health insurance!

I sometimes wonder if I caused it, I was so low in folic acid.

neesee

Lisa16 Collaborator
Lisa16
Posted
  • Author
I take Diovan and Toprol for my hbp and ischemia. I'm sure you could find something you can take. You have to get used to some of the side effects of medications sometimes. You need to get serious about your blood pressure!

My son has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He also has a posterior fossa sub arachnoid cyst and high blood pressure. I have no idea what caused his health problems. He's 28 yrs old with no health insurance!

I sometimes wonder if I caused it, I was so low in folic acid.

neesee

Thanks neesee-- I have taken both of those. The toprol (a beta blocker) "overblocks" me before the numbers get where they need to be. It also affects my vision, as well as other side effects. The diovan, which I did tolerate, did nothing--even at the highest dose.

Be assured I have been serious about it-- sorry to give the impression I wasn't. I have tried well over 40 medications in the past 11 years. The doctors are really at the lab rat stage, I'm afraid. That is why I was hoping for the connection (which,according to that article, there may be.)

If it was the IgA getting deposited, that would explain why a medication wouldn't work-- wouldn't it?

Also, please don't blame yourself because of low folic acid. There are so many unknowns and things we don't understand. Maybe in the future things will get better for all of us. I hope so.

Lisa

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celiac-mommy Collaborator
celiac-mommy
Posted
https://www.celiac.com/articles/651/1/Heart...Yick/Page1.html

I also found some references to celiac and portal hypertension in pubmed, but they seem to be isolated cases.

There is some very conflicting information out there and I am a little confused.

Lisa

I read the article earlier, I don't fully agree with the gal. The studies were fairly small and I'm not really sure that the findings were definite. To me it read like they still weren't 100% sure of the outcomes and although they found the antibodies in the pericardium, the person could have had the inflammitory process, developed bloody pericarial fluid and upon drainage and analysis, found the antibodies in the pericarduim. Anyway, If you have inflammation of any kind in your body, it can affect multiple areas, not just 1. I agree with getting the inflamation under control however you can (there are many ways to go about it, not just with medicine) as well as the BP--VERY important. In the presence of having high BP, I would question your Dr about having 'boarderline HCM' but I could be wrong...

Certain diseases/disorders etc.. occur in the presence of other disorders, but it doesn't necessarily mean that one caused the other. You can have coronary artery disease (CAD) without diabetes, but because of the way the body reacts with the insulin with diabetes, CAD is common when one is diabetic. There are MANY issues like this. Which came 1st, the chicken or the egg? I guess the most important thing for you is to find a good Dr to help you take care of you!! Good luck and best wishes to you!

  • 2 years later...
pdquick Newbie
pdquick
Posted

Lisa, have you been given a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? As celiac-mommy points out, it is not the same thing as the thickening of heart muscle that is seen on echo in hypertension. If there is truly a question of HCM, you should be seen at least once by an HCM specialist. You should also consider genetic counseling and testing. This is important not just for you, but also for your family members who might also have it. The HCM Association website is 4HCM.org. The understanding of inherited cardiomyopathies is expanding rapidly, and I personally don't feel that HCMA has kept pace, but they're still a good place to start. Their resources include listings of centers of excellence in HCM care.

There have been reports of correlation between pericarditis and celiac. Pericarditis is an inflammatory condition characterized by inflammation of the lining of the heart. By contrast, HCM and other cardiomyopathies are oftne genetic disorders affecting specific proteins in the heart muscle. There have been reports of slight increase in risk of celiac among patients in a cardiomyopathy clinic awaiting transplant, but the excess seems to be in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, not HCM. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a common end-stage presentation of many kinds of cardiomyopathy, so it's not clear that all those patients even had the same heart condition. A large review of medical records in Sweden showed no correlation between celiac disease and cardiomyopathy.

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