RA and heart attacks.

[Guest guest]

This is not good news, especially for those of us who have both RA and

diabetes. I think we need to make sure that our doctors pay attention

to such things as our blood pressure and cholesterol numbers.

Sue

ScienceDaily (June 19, 2010) — Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients face

a two-fold increased risk of suffering a Myocardial Infarction (MI,

heart attack) versus the general population, which is comparable to

the increased risk of MI seen in diabetes patients, according to

results of a new study presented at EULAR 2010, the Annual Congress of

the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy.In this Danish,

nationwide, 10 year study, RA and diabetes patients were directly

compared to assess their individual risk of having an MI over time. In

those patients that developed RA, the Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) of

experiencing a MI was increased to 1.65 (95% Confidence Interval (CI)

1.46-1.86), comparable to the increased risk of MI seen in patients

developing diabetes mellitus (IRR 1.73 95% CI (1.68-1.79)). Data was

further analysed to examine increased risk in certain age groups and

researchers found that the risk of MI was increased six-fold in women

with RA younger than 50 years (IRR 6.01 95% CI (3.62-9.99)) comparable

to diabetic women in the same age range (IRR 6.13 95% CI (4.99-7.54)).

Overall, the risk of MI in patients with RA and diabetes was similar

for male patients at IRR 1.66 (1.39-1.98) and 1.59 (1.53-1.66)

respectively.

" While we already know that RA is an independent risk factor for

cardiovascular disease, our data highlight that the increased risk of

a heart attack faced by RA patients is of a similar magnitude as that

faced by diabetes patients, who in contrast to RA patients are

routinely considered for intensive cardiovascular risk management, "

said Dr. Jesper Lindhardsen, Department of Cardiology, Gentofte

University Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark, and lead author of the study.

" This study underlines the importance of implementing EULAR

recommendations advocating early detection and management of

cardiovascular risk factors, as well as providing sufficient RA

treatment in order to reduce the significant burden associated with

cardiovascular disease co-morbidity and mortality. "

The study, which was supported by the Danish Rheumatism Association,

analysed data from the entire Danish population (n=4,614,840, minimum

10 years old) and monitored for incidence of diabetes and RA between

1997 and 2006 (or the date of patients first MI, whichever came

first). A total of 10,547 people developed RA and 132,868 developed

diabetes. IRR was calculated and analysed by multiple Poisson

regression, a statistical technique utilised for modeling and

analyzing several variables in a patient population.