Estimated to affect 125 million people worldwide, psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the immune system that commonly manifests in the form of thick, red, scaly patches on the skin.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts, USA) found that the risk of coronary disease is almost 30% greater in psoriasis patients, and stroke risk exceeded the rate of the general population by 12%.  The risk did not vary by severity of psoriasis, as patients with moderate and severe disease had a similar prevalence of heart disease and stroke.  Separately, a Copenhagen University (Denmark) team studied nearly 50,000 patients who had experienced their first heart attack between 2002 and 2006, following the 462 patients with psoriasis for an average of 19.5 months and the 48,935 controls for an average of 22 months. The team found that heart attack patients with psoriasis were 26% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, or suffer from recurrent heart attacks or strokes, and were 18% more likely to die from all causes than those without the inflammatory skin disease. 

Presently considered a genetic condition (inherited familially), there is presently no cure.  A healthy diet and regular exercise, plus minimizing your stress levels and maintaining strong social connections, may help to manage the disease and alleviate the severity of its symptoms.