The Hidden Connection Between Allergies and the Heart

By Office of the President | Apr 22, 2025

Most people consider allergies minor—sneezing, itchy eyes, or a lingering cough. Few connect them to heart disease. New research from Downstate suggests that this view may need to change. Common allergic conditions like asthma and hay fever may increase the odds of cardiovascular disease.

Sairaman Nagarajan, M.D., MPH, physician editor at The Merck Manuals and adjunct professor at Downstate, was the first author on the most extensive study to date examining this connection. He collaborated with Rauno Joks, M.D., FAAAAI, Chief of Allergy and Immunology and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, and Janet Rosenbaum, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Together, they conducted a large-scale computational analysis using 20 years of health data from more than 600,000 individuals through the National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS), a CDC-run program. The University of Minnesota’s Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) project provided free access to the data, with funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

The study found that people with hay fever had a 25 percent higher likelihood of coronary heart disease and were 20 percent more likely to report a heart attack. For those with asthma, the likelihood of heart disease rose by 36 percent, particularly among individuals who had recent asthma attacks.

These findings point to a critical public health concern: chronic inflammation, common in asthma and hay fever, may damage the heart and blood vessels over time. Allergies, often seen as isolated to the skin or lungs, can trigger immune responses that lead to widespread inflammation, increasing the possibility of artery blockage, heart attacks, and strokes. This perspective challenges how clinicians and patients view allergic disease.

The impact falls hardest on urban, immigrant, and under-resourced communities—places where allergies and heart disease frequently go undiagnosed. Current clinical guidelines do not recommend routine heart screenings for patients with allergic conditions. That creates a serious gap in care for populations already burdened by health disparities.

As allergy season intensifies, these symptoms deserve closer attention. Sneezing, wheezing, and itching may signal more than temporary discomfort. They may reflect systemic inflammation with long-term cardiovascular consequences. A more comprehensive approach to care that accounts for the broader impact of allergic inflammation could improve outcomes.

Clinicians should reevaluate how they monitor allergic patients. When individuals with poorly controlled asthma or hay fever report chest pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath, those symptoms may point to heart problems—not just allergies. This research calls for updated clinical protocols and immediate public health response.

Addressing allergies goes beyond symptom relief. Early identification of high-risk patients and proactive, integrated care can reduce heart attacks, improve quality of life, and lower long-term costs.

For Downstate’s research community, the study also affirms the value of open-access, high-quality data. Tools like IPUMS support work with national relevance and practical application.

This cross-disciplinary research highlights the need for integrated care models in communities with undiagnosed chronic conditions. Science urges us to look past surface symptoms and recognize what allergic disease may reveal about overall health.