Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Disease in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Imran Nisar; Zohaib Akram; Ali Qais; Sohail Arshad; Hinza Farooq; Shahzaib Hassan

doi:10.70749/ijbr.v3i5.1274

Authors

Imran Nisar Department of Medicine, Shalamar Hospital, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Zohaib Akram Department of Medicine, Shalamar Hospital, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Ali Qais Department of Orthopedics, Akhtar Saeed Trust Hospital, EME Society, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Sohail Arshad Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Medical and Dental College, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Hinza Farooq Department of Medicine, Services Hospital, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Shahzaib Hassan Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v3i5.1274

Keywords:

Cardiovascular Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, ardiovascular Risk Factors, Inflammatory Disorders

Abstract

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the synovial joints, leading to progressive joint damage, deformities, and functional disability. Objective: The basic aim of this technical report is to find the cardiovascular risk factors and disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Shalamar Hospital, Lahore, from 01 May 2024 to 31 October 2024. A total of 145 patients were included in the study. Patients were recruited from a rheumatology clinic over 6 months. Results: Data include 145 patients with a mean age of 52.4 ± 12.1 years, and a majority were female (76.6%). The average duration of RA was 8.3 ± 5.4 years. Most patients had a BMI of 27.4 ± 4.2 kg/m², indicating a high proportion of overweight individuals. A significant percentage of patients had cardiovascular risk factors: 62.1% had hypertension, 78.6% had dyslipidemia, and 34.5% had diabetes or insulin resistance. Additionally, 29.7% reported a family history of cardiovascular disease. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) levels were highest in the high disease activity group, with systolic BP increasing from 135.5 ± 15.2 mmHg in the low activity group to 152.2 ± 19.4 mmHg in the high activity group (p < 0.01), and diastolic BP also rising from 85.4 ± 9.2 mmHg to 93.2 ± 12.3 mmHg (p < 0.05). LDL cholesterol levels were significantly higher in patients with high disease activity (157.3 ± 47.8 mg/dL) compared to those with low disease activity (138.9 ± 39.8 mg/dL, p = 0.04). Conclusion: It is concluded that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, with a high prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance among RA patients.

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