Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients are at an Increased Heart Failure Risk: Find Out Why!

Here's why patients with rheumatoid arthritis are at an increased risk of heart failure- Diastolic dysfunction.

Diastolic dysfunction is a condition in which the ventricles of the heart become relatively stiff leading to impaired filling. Over time, this can lead to heart failure.

Mitral Valve Stenosis And Mitral Valve Replacement - Brief Information
Mitral valve replacement is a surgical heart procedure to correct either the narrowing (stenosis) or the leakage (regurgitation).

They found that diastolic dysfunction was more common in the patients with RA, with nearly 38.9 percent at an increased risk of heart failure, compared to 28.8 percent in the non-RA group.

They also found that patients in the RA group had higher average pulmonary arterial pressure, which is high blood pressure in the lungs and the right side of the heart.

The researchers compared the frequency of diastolic dysfunction in 149 people with RA to a group of 1,405 people without the disease.

Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
Animation and slides with sound on ‘Ventricular septal defect (VSD)’ illustrating the dynamics and treatment of the abnormal hole in septal wall of ventricles

All the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire and had echocardiograms (cardiac ultrasounds).

They also found that patients in the RA group had higher average pulmonary arterial pressure, which is high blood pressure in the lungs and the right side of the heart.

Atrial Septal Defect or ASD
Animation and slides of ‘Atrial septal defect (ASD)’ illustrating the dynamics and treatment of the abnormal hole in septal wall of upper chambers of the heart.

"Wider use of echocardiography in patients with RA may reveal heart abnormalities before they are detected clinically," said Dr Kimberly Liang, assistant professor, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., and lead author of the study.

"Early detection could improve long-term outcomes in these patients," she added.

Even Mild Sleep Apnea Raises Heart Disease Risk
A new study from the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine in the UK has found that people with even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea may be at increased heart disease risk.

The research was presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Source-ANI
SPH