Signs of arterial stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease

Increased arterial stiffness is one of the additional risk factors (RFs) for cardiovascular diseases along with traditional RFs, such as male gender, age, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and smoking. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the risk of cardiovascular events, including coronary heart disease (CHD), is significantly higher than that in the general population, which may be associated with the characteristics of the underlying disease or the prevalence of traditional RFs. Subjects and methods. The results of investigating the arterial stiffness in 56 patients including 46 with RA and 10 with CHD without inflammatory joint disease (a control group) were analyzed. Arterial stiffness was assessed by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) in the area from the carotid artery to the femoral one, which was determined by applanation tonometry, as well as by CAVI that was calculated according to the data of volume sphygmography. Results and discussion. According to the investigation encompassing exercise tests and coronary angiography, the group of patients with RA was divided into two subgroups, depending on the presence or absence of coronary artery disease caused by atherosclerosis. The patients' age was 38 to 77 years (mean age 60.3+7.2 years); the male proportion was 34.8%. Conclusion. The presence of RA with and without CHD is associated with a significant rise in arterial stiffness compared to isolated CHD (cfPWV, 13.6 and 8.6 m/sec, respectively). The increase in cfPWV and CAVI compared with the age norm was revealed in the majority of RA patients both with and without CHD.