East Indy News

• Sinusitis sufferers could be at risk for heart disease if they don't seek treatment.
• Multiple studies have shown that acute sinusitis and chronic sinusitis can potentially lead to stroke.
• A balloon sinuplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that can help sinus sufferers and reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke.

Dr. Anthony Sanders of Indianapolis Sinus Center says that patients with chronic sinusitis run a higher risk of stroke and heart disease and should seek treatment from a specialist sooner rather than later.

"There have been some published papers out of Taiwan that talk about (the greater risk of strokes in patients with chronic sinusitis),” Sanders told East Indy News. “Within the last 20, 30 years, there has been a focus on atherosclerosis, which leads to more prevalence of stroke and heart disease and such being an inflammatory condition. It's been associated with dental caries, for instance. And that paper from Taiwan has shown an association with chronic rhinosinusitis, probably by a similar mechanism."

Headaches and congestion are normal symptoms of sinusitis. But a study published in the American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy suggested that the inflammation causing the pain and pressure of a sinus infection also increases the odds of suffering a stroke — by 34% for people with chronic sinusitis and by 39% for those who get occasional acute infections.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the link between sinusitis and stroke creates a heightened risk in middle-aged adults, with approximately 37% of stroke patients between the ages of 45 and 65.

A 2012 article published in the American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy concluded that both acute and chronic sinusitis are risk factors for stroke and are separate from traditional stroke markers. Further research in this important area of epidemiology is warranted.

Data from the national cohort study published in PLOS One deduced that chronic sinusitis consistently increases stroke risk, including the risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, regardless of age and gender.

According to Healthline, balloon sinuplasty is often recommended for people with chronic sinusitis, after other treatments prove ineffective. Reported complications from balloon sinuplasty are minimal, since there is no cutting and no bone or tissue removal.

To learn more about the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, please take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.