Also, advanced lipoprotein testing may improve accuracy of this needed risk assessment, they add. “Closer investigation into the underlying mechanisms by which inflammation increases the risk of [cardiovascular] events in RA represents an important, rapidly evolving area of study that may have implications beyond rheumatology.”
A consortium of U.S. and European investigators are working to develop an RA-specific cardiovascular risk calculator, given that traditional risk algorithms, such as the Framingham Risk Score in the U.S. and the HeartSCORE in Europe, underestimate the risk for RA patients. Called ATTAC-RA (A TransAtlantic Cardiovascular Risk Calculator for Rheumatoid Arthritis), the effort began in February 2013. The group includes 13 rheumatology centers from 10 countries, has combined data from more than 5,500 patients and includes 476 evaluable cardiovascular events. The researchers are hoping to develop a tool that is more discriminating than current ones, a calculator that incorporates the paradoxical relationship of lipids and cardiovascular risk among patients with RA.
Kathy L. Holliman, MEd, is a medical writer based in Beverly, Mass.
References
- Liao KP, Solomon DH. Inflammation, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, lipids, and cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2015 Feb;67(2):327–329.
- Rao VU, Pavlov A, Klearman M, et al. An evaluation of risk factors for major adverse cardiovascular events during tocilizumab therapy. Arthritis Rheum. 2015 Feb;67(2):372–380.
- Choy E, Ganeshalingam K, Semb AG, et al. Cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis: Recent advances in the understanding of the pivotal role of inflammation, risk predictors and the impact of treatment. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2014 Dec;53(12):2143–2154.
- Myasoedova E, Crowson CS, Kremers HM, et al. Lipid paradox in rheumatoid arthritis: The impact of serum lipid measures and systemic inflammation on the risk of cardiovascular disease. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 Mar;70(3):482–487.
