INFO - Why you need a chest scan: lung diseases often accompany connective tissue disorders

[Guest guest]

Arthritis Foundation

Arthritis Today

11 Jun 2007

By Lynn Mann

Why You Need a Chest Scan

Lung diseases often accompany connective tissue disorders.

If you have a connective tissue disorder, add this to your to-do list:

Talk to your doctor about getting a baseline chest X-ray, if you have

not had one.

Interstitial lung disease can affect people with rheumatoid arthritis

(RA) or scleroderma, damaging lung tissue, inflaming the walls of the

air sacs in the lung, scarring tissue between the air sacs and

stiffening the lung, says K. Brown, MD, vice chair of medicine

and head of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program at the National

Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

Dr. Brown says that if every patient with scleroderma or RA had a

chest scan, probably more than half would show interstitial lung

disease, but the severity varies widely.

****************************************

Read the full article here:

http://www.arthritis.org/chest-scan.php

Not an MD

[Guest guest]

I am at double risk since I have both RA and Scleroderma?

KD

>

> Arthritis Foundation

> Arthritis Today

> 11 Jun 2007

> By Lynn Mann

>

>

> Why You Need a Chest Scan

> Lung diseases often accompany connective tissue disorders.

>

>

> If you have a connective tissue disorder, add this to your to-do list:

> Talk to your doctor about getting a baseline chest X-ray, if you have

> not had one.

>

> Interstitial lung disease can affect people with rheumatoid arthritis

> (RA) or scleroderma, damaging lung tissue, inflaming the walls of the

> air sacs in the lung, scarring tissue between the air sacs and

> stiffening the lung, says K. Brown, MD, vice chair of medicine

> and head of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program at the National

> Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

>

> Dr. Brown says that if every patient with scleroderma or RA had a

> chest scan, probably more than half would show interstitial lung

> disease, but the severity varies widely.

>

> ****************************************

> Read the full article here:

>

> http://www.arthritis.org/chest-scan.php

>

>

>

> Not an MD

>

[Guest guest]

KD,

I don't think the risk is additive, but you are probably at higher

risk than a person with only one of the diseases.

Did your rheumatologist diagnose you with both RA and scleroderma or an overlap?

Not an MD

On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM, danielskathy@...

<danielskathy@...> wrote:

>

>

> I am at double risk since I have both RA and Scleroderma?

>

> KD