Excess Cardiovascular Risk in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases: Pathophysiology and Targeted Therapy

Abstract

The article reviews the evidence and extent of the excess cardiovascular risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and ankylosing spondylitis. RA entails nearly twice as high a standardized mortality ratio and is considered an equivalent of type 2 diabetes with regard to cardiovascular risk. The associated excess cardiovascular risk can only partly be explained by traditional risk factors, and the underlying inflammation is crucially involved in the pathogenesis.