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Cardiovascular risk factors linked with hemodynamic alterations in RA
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Cardiovascular risk factors were linked with hemodynamic alternations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a recently published study.
“Traditional cardiovascular risk factors and disease characteristics are consistently related to vascular hemodynamic alterations in [rheumatoid arthritis] RA,” Aletta M.E. Millen, PhD, from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and colleagues wrote.
Researchers assessed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) characteristics of arterial stiffness, wave reflection and pressure pulsatility in 177 patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). They found the recorded characteristics explained 37% to 71% of arterial function variability. In addition, these factors were linked with wave leukocyte count and total cholesterol. Furthermore, BMI was linked with reduced wave reflection; insulin resistance was linked with peripheral pulse pressure and exercise was linked with increased pulse pressure amplification. Investigators also found alcohol consumption was linked with decreased peripheral pulse pressure; tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibition was linked with reduced pulse wave velocity; and tetracycline use was linked with decreased peripheral pulse pressure.
“The relative effect of arterial stiffness, wave reflection and pressure pulsatility in the enhanced CVD risk among patients with RA needs further investigation,” the researchers wrote. – by Will A. Offit
Disclosure : The researchers report funding by the South African National Research Foundation and Medical Research Council.
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