Heart Disease-RA Link: A Look Back
In 2003, the Arthritis Foundation listed as one of its Top 10 Research Advances: “Prevention of heart disease complications in RA.” That’s because in 2003, researchers investigating the link between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and heart disease found that women with RA were twice as likely to have heart attacks compared to women without RA (Source: Circulation, March 2003). Evidence suggested that in people with RA inflammation not only attacks the joints but also the lining of blood vessels. Further studies in 2003 found that statins, a family of drugs used to lower cholesterol in people at risk for heart disease, also may have value in treating joint inflammation in RA (Sources: Journal of Immunology, February 2003; American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, October 2003).
