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Cardiovascular involvement in rheumatoid arthritisRheumatology Unit and Center for the Study of Rheumatic Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy, gerlir{at}unipg.it
Academic Rheumatology Department, School of Clinical Sciences, University of Liverpool, University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK Cardiovascular (CV) disease morbidity and mortality are increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and much of the excess CV disease morbidity appears to be due to atherosclerosis. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (ATS) in RA is complex and there is increasing evidence that many factors including novel and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, RA treatments and the RA inflammatory disease process are involved in the development of CV disease in these patients. Of particular interest are the effects of chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation associated with RA. These have been shown to be associated with endothelial dysfunction, which is an early, potentially reversible, functional abnormality of the arterial wall. However, as several CV disease risk factors and drug prescribing are also influenced by RA disease severity it is very difficult to separate out the effects of the inflammatory disease burden on the cardiovascular system in RA.
Key Words: atherosclerosis • cardiovascular system • heart • rheumatoid arthritis
Lupus, Vol. 14, No. 9,
679-682 (2005) This article has been cited by other articles:
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