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Rheumatoid Arthritis Increases Risk for New Heart Failure

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Dec 20, 2024.

via HealthDay

FRIDAY, Dec. 20, 2024 -- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a higher rate of heart failure subtypes, according to a study published online Dec. 9 in Arthritis Care & Research.

Yumeko Kawano, M.D., from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues evaluated the risk for heart failure subtypes in patients with RA compared to non-RA controls. The analysis included 1,445 patients with RA and 4,335 matched non-RA controls.

The researchers found that heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was the most common heart failure subtype in both groups (65 percent in RA versus 59 percent in non-RA). Patients with RA had a higher risk for incident heart failure than those without RA (hazard ratio, 1.79) when adjusting for cardiovascular disease risk factors. Patients with RA also had a higher rate of HFpEF (hazard ratio, 1.99). However, there was no statistical difference in the heart failure with reduced ejection fraction rate.

"The elevated risk was driven by HFpEF, supporting a role for inflammation in HFpEF and highlighting potential opportunities to address this excess risk in RA," the authors write. "Since inflammation is modifiable with anti-inflammatory medications, further studies are needed to determine whether anti-inflammatory therapies have the potential to reduce risk of HFpEF in RA and other individuals with chronic inflammation."

Several authors disclosed ties to industry.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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