[Role of uric acid in cardiovascular diseases]

Uric acid has been suggested as a risk factor in cardiovascular disease since the beginning of the twentieth century. While some clinical evidence have found a significant, specific and independent association between the uric acid serum level and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, others came to an opposite conclusion. Hyperuricemia commonly coexists with hyperlipidaemia, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and others cardiovascular risk factors. This strong association makes the the role of risk factors difficult to separate out. Thus, the role of uric acid as an independent risk marker remains an open question.