The inflammation that shows on your skin is also inside your arteries
Psoriasis is classified as a systemic autoimmune disease, which means the immune malfunction behind your skin plaques is not confined to the surface. The same cytokines, particularly TNF-alpha, IL-17, and IL-23, that drive skin inflammation also accelerate atherosclerosis, the process by which arterial walls thicken and harden with fatty deposits. A 2013 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that patients with severe psoriasis had a 58% higher risk of a major cardiovascular event compared to age-matched controls without the condition. Cardiologists now refer to this as the "psoriasis-cardiovascular axis", a recognised clinical relationship, not an incidental overlap.
