Frequency of Fibromyalgia in a Sample of Iraqi Patients in Mosul with Ischemic Heart Disease

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a common chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain together with mood and cognitive dysfunction. Data on the frequency of fibromyalgia in ischemic heart disease (IHD) are scarce. AIM: This study aimed to assess the frequency of fibromyalgia in IHD patients and to evaluate the characteristics of IHD patients with comorbid fibromyalgia. METHODS: The study was conducted in the coronary care unit, Department of Medicine in Ibn Sina Teaching Hospital in Mosul city, between March and November 2020. One hundred patients with IHD and 100 healthy controls were studied. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia was according to the 2011 modification of the 2010 American College of Rheumatology preliminary diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia. Socio-demographic features and IHD characteristics of patients were recorded. RESULTS: The frequency of fibromyalgia was significantly higher among patients with IHD (29%) as compared to controls (7%). The mean age and proportion of women were significantly higher in IHD patients with fibromyalgia than those without fibromyalgia. It was also more common in patients with the present MI (p = 0.032) and in patients who had previous coronary angiography (p = 0.008). Patients with comorbid fibromyalgia had lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (p = 0.0003) and higher scores on beck depression inventory (p = 0.0025). However, on multivariate logistic regression analysis, only two variables remained significant, (1) among IHD patients, fibromyalgia was more frequent in women (odds ratio [OR] = 3.839, p = 0.022) and (2) in patients having lower LVEF (OR = 0.917, p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: There is a high frequency of fibromyalgia in patients with IHD. Those IHD patients with comorbid fibromyalgia are more likely to be older, women, and with poor LVEF.