Am J Arthritis | Volume 3, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access

Cardiovascular Events in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients - 6 Year Follow-up Study

Evija Stumbra Stumberga*, Gaida Krumina, Silva Senkane and Liana Ziediņa

Department of Rheumatology, Riga Stradins University, Latvia

*Correspondance to: Evija Stumbra Stumberga 

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Abstract

Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease when compared to the general population. This case-control prospective study investigated whether the atherosclerotic lesions in brachiocephalic vessels, carotid Intima-Media Thickness (cIMT), cerebrovascular, Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and smoking, as well as level of disease activity and severity, seropositivity are associated with the risk of developing clinical cerebrovascular, cardiovascular events in patients with RA during 6 year follow-up. Therefore a case-control study was performed within the prospective cohort of patients with RA. Cases were patients who developed their first stroke or MI after diagnosis of RA; controls were patients with RA without CVD. Cases and controls had similar RA disease duration. Traditional and disease-specific risk factors for CVD were collected. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics V.22.0 (IBM, Armonk, New York, USA). Our results showed that cases of CV events were age-dependent. Primary arterial hypertension, severe atherosclerotic plaques and older age of patients, as well as later onset of complaints, were associated with CV cases in RA patients. Other traditional and disease-specific risk factors, as well as seropositivity, RA disease activity and severity, joint replacement surgery was not associated with CV events in RA patients in our study.

Keywords:

Rheumatoid arthritis; Cerebrovascular disease; Stroke; MI; Carotid artery intima media thickness

Citation:

Stumberga ES, Krumina G, Senkane S, Ziediņa L. Cardiovascular Events in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients - 6 Year Follow-up Study. Am J Arthritis. 2019;3(1):1015..

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