Artritis reumatoide y riesgo cardiovascular

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most frequent cause of premature death according to data
 from the American Heart Association and World Health Organization. Incidence and prevalence are
 on the rise. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is the most common autoimmune disease. It is a chronic and
 systemic disease characterized by articular involvement with deformity ranging from persistent
 pain to premature disability. CVD is the most frequent cause of death in RA patients, even more
 than in diabetes mellitus 2 or chronic kidney disease. Multiple CVD risk scales have been tested in
 order to obtain a more accurate prediction of premature death by stroke or myocardial infarction
 in RA patients. Most of the scales, even those adjusted including RA features like inflammation
 and antibodies titles, have failed to properly predict the real CVD risk. Individually, RA specific
 autoantibodies have been related with increased CVD risk and multiple mechanistic explanations
 have arisen, generating even a new concept called “Autoimmune Atheromatosis”. Nevertheless,
 this association fails to give a full understanding of the accelerated and aggressive atheromatosis
 process that RA patients develop. New studies oriented to mechanistic explanations are
 necessary in order to develop new diagnostic targets and prevention strategies.