Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Patients with Rheumatic Disea | Figure 1

Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Patients with Rheumatic Diseases

You can view up to 4 cases without signing up.Sign up for unlimited access

Key Points:

Adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an ∼1.5 times higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) even with no traditional CVD risk factors, and incidence rates increase substantially with number of CVD risk factors.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles or apolipoproteins (apoB or apoA1) may be more reliable CVD risk factors than cholesterol (total, LDL-cholesterol, or HDL-cholesterol) concentrations because of chronic inflammation.
In RA, current CVD risk factors likely underestimate the extent of subclinical atherosclerosis.
Inflammation may directly cause myocardial injury and heart failure.
Disease activity is a strong risk factor for CVD and mortality and a key target for CVD risk reduction.

Trending now

A 52-year-old man presented with a 20-minute history of chest pain radiating to the left shoulder and neck, associated with dyspnea and diaphoresis. He had a history of hypertension, long-term smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle. On physical examination, bibasilar crackles were noted on lung auscultation. An electrocardiogram (ECG) was performed in the primary care setting, and the patient was promptly referred to the emergency department.Case details

A 28-year-old woman presented with a 3-day history of intense pruritus over the lower back. She reported no recent travel or exposure to new environments. She cares for a small kennel with approximately eight dogs rescued from the streets. Physical examination revealed multiple small vesicles, some clustered and others scattered, predominantly involving the lumbar region and the left gluteal area.Case details

A 4-month-old male infant presented with skin lesions localized to the chin for the past 3 days. Physical examination revealed multiple small pustules with surrounding inflammatory signs on the chin, along with a few scattered papules on the chest.Case details

patient in late teens presenting after a collapse, no chest pain, no previous cardiac history, no history of sudden death in family, are there any features in this ekg that would warrant further work-up or is this just a pediatric ekg?Case details