News:Arthritis Patients Remain at 50% Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Death

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Rheumatoid arthritis patients face a 50% greater risk of cardiovascular death when compared to the general population, according to a meta-analysis published by a Canadian research team in the most recent issue of Arthritis Care & Research. The meta-analysis pooled 111,758 patients, who experienced 22,927 cardiovascular events, from 24 observational studies. In addition to the overall increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, patients with rheumatoid arthritis displayed both a 59% increased risk of death due to myocardial infarction and a 52% increased risk of death due to stroke. These findings highlight that although the rate of cardiovascular mortality has been decreasing among the general population in recent years, rheumatoid arthritis patients do not appear to be experiencing the full benefit. A noted limitation of the meta-analysis was that the majority of studies did not include the prevalent usage of biologic therapies, which may reduce the risk of cardiac death for patients with rheumatoid arthritis when compared to other therapies. (Medscape by Lisa Nainggollan and Charles Vega)