Current Controversies in Cardiovascular
Aspects of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an independent risk factor for accelerated cardiovascular disease (CVD). This excess risk is evident after adjusting for traditional CVD risk factors, indicating that chronic systemic inflammation also contributes to CVD in RA. As such, widely used traditional models for assessing CVD risk may be misleading or invalid when applied to patients with RA. Further, it is unclear which specialist should manage CVD risk in RA patients.

Accumulating data indicate that patients with RA have increased evidence of subclinical atherosclerosis, rendering RA a potential model for examining the impact of chronic inflammatory burden. Reduction of disease activity via disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs reduces CVD risks and ongoing studies are investigating the link between RA, its treatment, and CV outcomes.

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