Carotid Intima Media Thickness and Endothelial Function: Useful Surrogate Markers for Cardiovascular Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in RA disease. In active RA patients, the majority of cardiovascular deaths result from accelerates atherosclerosis.

Aim of the Work: The aim of this work is to assess carotid intima media thickness (C-IMT) and endothelial function by brachial artery flow mediated dilatation (FMD) in Rheumatoid arthritis patients and relation to the disease activity.

Subjects and Methods: Our study included 50 RA patients, from Tanta University Hospital. 47 women and 3 men and their age ranged from 30-62 years. They were divided into group 1: 25 active RA patients, group 2: 25 inactive RA patients who were diagnosed by American College of Rheumatology (ACR) revised criteria for diagnosis of RA 1987 and disease activity was evaluated using disease activity score 28(DAS28). Group 3: 25 normal subjects as a control group. We measured C-IMT and FMD in all groups.

Results: By comparing the groups, we found that active RA patients had increased C-IMT compared to inactive rheumatoid arthritis patients and controls which is indicator of atherosclerosis. FMD of the brachial artery impaired in RA patients compared to controls which is indicator of endothelial dysfunction. There was highly statistically significant relation between duration, activity of RA disease and atherosclerosis in RA patients.

Conclusion: With increasing the frequency of atherosclerosis in asymptomatic RA patients, carotid IMT increased and FMD impaired when compared with general population. Active RA patients have increased carotid IMT and impaired FMD compared with inactive RA patients.