ABERDEEN, Scotland—Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with a “high inflammatory burden” are more likely to have stiff arteries, independent of other known cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. The new findings, which appear on-line in Rheumatology, raise important questions about more aggressively targeting inflammation in RA to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in these patients.1
“RA patients are already known to be at increased risk of CV events, but research evidence is lacking as how best to manage CV risk in RA patients,” lead researcher Michael A. Crilly, MD, MPH, a senior lecturer in clinical epidemiology at the University of Aberdeen Medical School in Aberdeen, Scotland, tells MSKreport.com. “It is sensible to assess CV risk using a validated risk score based on the general population such as the Framingham risk score, but on average, RA patients will be at higher risk than their Framingham risk score,” he says. Doctors need to “advise all RA patients to stop smoking, keep active, eat a sensible diet and treat high blood pressure and high lipids,” he says.