Circulation Journal
Online ISSN : 1347-4820
Print ISSN : 1346-9843
ISSN-L : 1346-9843
Reviews
Rheumatoid Arthritis
A Model of Systemic Inflammation Driving Atherosclerosis
Ivy A. KuJohn B. ImbodenPriscilla Y. HsuePeter Ganz
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2009 Volume 73 Issue 6 Pages 977-985

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Abstract

Similarities between the inflammatory pathways in atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are striking. Chronic systemic inflammation in RA patients leads to cardiovascular (CV) events beyond traditional cardiac risk factors. Clinicians typically focus on treating the joint manifestations of RA while neglecting to eliminate systemic inflammation, which leaves RA patients vulnerable to adverse CV events. In this review we provide an understanding of how systemic inflammation in RA accelerates atherosclerosis. This knowledge should guide therapeutic targets to minimize CV risk in RA, and may lead to insights into the inflammatory mechanisms of atherosclerosis in general. (Circ J 2009; 73: 977-985)

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© 2009 THE JAPANESE CIRCULATION SOCIETY
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