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Vascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis: From subclinical lesions to cardiovascular risk
European Journal of Internal Medicine , 06/15/09

Tanasescu C et al. - A review of the most important vascular lesions in patients with RA, especially those related to atherosclerosis, associated with an increased cardiovascular risk, and the most clinically relevant measures to improve this risk.

• The vascular involvement in RA might be silent or subclinical
• In RA a high prevalence of ischemic heart disease and particularly of myocardial infarction are reported
• Infammatory pathways seem to be linked with the cardiovascular risk in RA pts
• New biological agents (e.g. TNF blockers) might improve the endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness in pts
• Treatment with some DMARDs (especially with metothrexate) was associated with a reduction of cardiovascular risk
• Treatment with glucocorticoids might be associated with an increased cardiovascular risk
• In pts with RA, the management of cardiovascular risk is now regarded as a part of global management
• Statin therapy might be a valuable option in order to reduce the cardiovascular risk

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