Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk in rheumatic diseases

In clinical practice rheumatic diseases (RD) often cause death of young and middle-aged patients. In recent years, the high mortality rate of RD patients due to cardiovascular diseases has actively been discussed. Recent studies have shown that the leading causes of decline in life expectancy in RD patients are cardiovascular complications associated with atherosclerotic vascular lesions. Preclinical forms of atherosclerosis (endothelial dysfunction, thickening of the intima-media complex, increase in coronary calcium level) are much more often in RD patients than in the general population. Numerous studies have shown that the risk of cardiovascular diseases in RD patients is 2-5 times higher than in the general population. This leads to decline in life expectancy of these patients by 5-10 years averagely. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suffer from myocardial infarction and sudden coronary death twice as frequently as patients without it. These patients are more likely to be hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome three times as often, even 2 years before they are diagnosed RA...