Gallstones are a tell-tale sign of an increased risk of heart disease, particularly among those who look outwardly healthy, new research suggests.

A survey of more than 840,000 people found that a history of gallstone disease was associated with a 23 per cent higher chance of developing coronary heart disease, and that the association was even stronger in those who were not obese, diabetic or suffering from high blood pressure.

Professor Lu Qi said patients with gallstone disease should be monitored closely based on a careful assessment of both gallstone and heart disease risk factors. Gallstones occur when balls of cholesterol form in the gallbladder.

The affliction affects more than one in 10 people in the UK and it shares many risk factors with heart disease, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity.

But whereas people who are already overweight or obese are likely to be aware of their increased risk of heart disease, gallstones could be a useful warning to those who look outwardly healthy.

Lu Qi, professor of epidemiology at Tulane University in New Orleans, where the research was conducted, said that patients with gallstone disease should be monitored closely based on a careful assessment of both gallstone and heart disease risk factors.

The study was published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Reported by
Henry Bodkin in The Telegraph