New research explores the association of the ability to walk and the risk of cardiovascular disease in OA patients compared with the general population. During the study, researchers recorded a six-minute walking distance and measured arterial stiffness of participants. The results: Even among younger people, OA patients could not walk as far as those in the general population. Also, arterial stiffness was inversely associated with walking distance, suggesting walking is important to the cardiovascular risk profile of OA patients…
Identifying Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), like other inflammatory diseases, has been associated with increased incidence for and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD), the most common comorbidity leading to death in many conditions treated by rheumatologists. But beyond recognizing the burden of increased inflammation, the mechanisms behind this association are not well understood, says M. Elaine Husni, MD,…
Insight into Endothelial Dysfunction in Early SLE Patients without Cardiovascular Disease
The early identification of endothelial dysfunction may be useful in clinical practice to prevent SLE patients from developing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. New research evaluated the use of peripheral arterial tonometry in assessing endothelial dysfunction in patients with early SLE and no cardiovascular risk factors or disease. The results: These patients showed a high rate of endothelial dysfunction and vascular stiffness…
Study Finds Newer Gout Drug Poses Risk to Heart Patients
(Reuters Health)—Gout sufferers with major pre-existing heart disease face a higher risk of death if they are treated with the drug febuxostat, a large long-term study has concluded. The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 34% higher with febuxostat than with allopurinol. When researchers considered deaths from any cause, the risk was 22% higher…
Autoimmune Inflammation Increases Risk of Heart Disease
SAN DIEGO—It’s no secret: Autoimmune, inflammatory rheumatic disease raises a patient’s risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). “Inflammation may affect all aspects of the cardiac structure and function,” said Rekha Mankad, MD, FACC, director of the Women’s Heart Clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Dr. Mankad also oversees a cardio-rheumatology clinic to assess and treat…
Rheumatoid Arthritis May Confer Higher Cardiac & Infection Risks
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of serious infections, myocardial infarction (MI) and coronary heart disease (CHD), an analysis of Medicare claims data suggests. “Higher disease activity as measured by a panel of biomarkers was associated with higher rates of hospitalized infections, MI and CHD events. These findings add…
Long-Term Benefits, Risks of Biologic Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs in Patients with RA
Two decades have passed since the first biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) was approved. Studies on the long-term use of biologics in different disease states, such as for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and malignancy, as well as for knee/hip replacement, reveal some encouraging news. In clinical trials, bDMARDs have been shown to increase the risk of…
Cardiovascular Disease Rate Differs Between SLE Patients of Different Races, Ethnicities
A recent epidemiologic study of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) investigated racial and ethnic differences in the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Among SLE patients enrolled in Medicaid, the risk for myocardial infarction (MI) was lower in Hispanics and Asians compared with whites, and the risk of stroke was higher in blacks and Hispanics…
Newly Diagnosed SLE Patients Have a Greater Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
New research has examined the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a large-scale population-based study. Researchers found that patients with SLE have a greater than two-fold increased risk of developing CVD. This risk is greatest during the first year after diagnosis and remains elevated for at least five years…
Plasma Complement Activation in Rheumatic Diseases May Accelerate Coronary Artery Disease
A recent study examined the relationship between complement activation and coronary artery disease in patients with rheumatic disease. Researchers found these patients had higher plasma terminal complement complexes and more complement activation in the vascular adventitia, which may accelerate cardiovascular disease and act as a target for new therapies…