AI Summary
The research identified six blood biomarkers associated with cardiovascular risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, which could improve the ability to predict future arterial inflammation. However, further research is needed to determine if these biomarkers are linked to cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes. The findings could lead to better risk assessment and earlier interventions for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis impacts approximately 2 million people in the United States and is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, assessing cardiovascular risk is difficult in patients with rheumatoid arthritis because standard clinical assessments based on factors like age, cholesterol, and smoking status tend to underestimate cardiovascular risk in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.Â
In a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, a research team led by physicians at Mass General Brigham with expertise in rheumatology and cardiovascular disease identified six blood biomarkers that are associated with cardiovascular risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and whose measurements improved the researchers’ ability to predict a future increase in arterial inflammation. The biomarkers hold the potential to clinically assess an individual patient’s risk of cardiovascular disease, but more research is needed to determine whether they are associated with cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke.
We think these biomarkers might improve our ability to predict risk and intervene early to help our patients. The idea is that if we measure biomarkers that are specific to rheumatoid arthritis, we might be able to better identify those at highest risk of cardiovascular events.”
Daniel H. Solomon, MD, MPH, first author, chief of the Section of Clinical Sciences in the Division of Rheumatology and Matthew H. Liang Distinguished Chair at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system
To identify rheumatoid arthritis-specific biomarkers of cardiovascular risk, the researchers assembled a panel