Rheumatoid Arthritis Could Raise Heart Risk

(June 21, 2010) - Rheumatoid arthritis may be just as dangerous for your heart as diabetes. (Read about "Rheumatoid Arthritis" "Diabetes") Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients face a two-fold increased risk of suffering a heart attack (Read about "Heart Attack") versus the general population, which is comparable to the increased risk of heart attacks seen in diabetes patients. That's according to a new study presented at an international rheumatoid arthritis conference.

The 10-year study directly compared RA and diabetes patients to assess their individual risk of having a heart attack over time.

In addition to the two-fold increase already noted, data was further analyzed to examine increased risk in certain age groups and researchers found that the risk of a heart attack was increased six-fold in women with RA younger than 50 years, again comparable to diabetic women in the same age range.

"While we already know that RA is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, our data highlight that the increased risk of a heart attack faced by RA patients is of a similar magnitude as that faced by diabetes patients, who in contrast to RA patients are routinely considered for intensive cardiovascular risk management," said Dr. Jesper Lindhardsen, lead author of the study.

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