ACR: Mortality gap narrows between RA patients and general population

They found a 57% decrease in the overall cardiovascular death rate in patients with RA onset in 2000-2007, compared with the earlier RA cohort. The improvement in deaths from myocardial infarction (coronary heart disease deaths) was particularly striking – an 80% decline in the most recent cohort versus the earlier cohort. Furthermore, the 10-year overall cardiovascular mortality and coronary heart disease mortality in those diagnosed during 2000-2007 did not differ from that of non-RA subjects, which was not observed in RA patients diagnosed in prior decades.

“We observed that cardiovascular disease deaths in patients with recent onset RA is now similar to that of the general population. This suggests that the gap in cardiovascular disease is closing, which has not been reported before,” she stated.

Both investigators emphasized the importance of screening RA patients for cardiovascular morbidity and for managing cardiovascular risk factors.

Dr. Lacaille and Dr. Myasoedova had no financial disclosures. Dr. Myasoedova’s study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

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