Rheumatoid arthritis: influence of inflammation and anti-inflammatory therapy on cardiovascular risk factors

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis is a frequent and one of the most severe immuno-inflammatory diseases in humans, which determines the great medical and socio-economic importance of this pathology. One of the priority problems of modern cardiac rheumatology is an increased risk of cardiovascular complications in rheumatoid arthritis. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, traditional cardiovascular risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (metabolic syndrome, obesity, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, smoking and hypodynamia) and a genetic predisposition are expressed. Their specific features also have a certain effect: the “lipid paradox” and the “obesity paradox”. However, chronic inflammation as a key factor in the development of progression of atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction plays a leading role in morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases in rheumatoid arthritis. This review discusses the effect of chronic inflammation and its mediators on traditional cardiovascular risk factors and its independent significance in the development of CVD. Drug therapy (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticosteroids, basic anti-inflammatory drugs, genetically engineered biological drugs) of the underlying disease also has a definite effect on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A review of studies on this problem suggests a positive effect of pharmacological intervention in rheumatoid arthritis on cardiovascular risk factors, their reduction to a level comparable to the populations of patients not suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The interaction of rheumatologists, cardiologists and first-contact doctors (therapist and general practitioner) in studying the mechanisms of the development of atherosclerosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis will allow in real clinical practice to develop adequate methods for the timely diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular diseases in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.