Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease for which there is no known cure. It affects approximately 2.1 million Americans.
While a cure does not exist, it is possible to put RA into remission.
RA- particularly when not optimally controlled- is a known risk factor for early atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) which leads to stroke and heart attacks occurring in patients at least ten years earlier than in people without the disease.
However, earlier studies have suggested that treating rheumatoid arthritis with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), such as methotrexate, and newer biologic therapies may reduce this risk.
A new research study appears to bolster these earlier findings. Between January 2005 and October 2006, the QUEST-RA project (The Questionnaires in Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Program) included 4,363 patients from 48 sites in 15 countries; 78% were female, more than 90% were Caucasian, and the mean age was 57 years.
The scientists were particularly interested in looking at a number of variables that might correlate with the use of methotrexate, the standard DMARD used by most rheumatologists.
Antonio Naranjo and colleagues found that lower risk for cardiovascular events, when adjusted for age, sex, disease activity, and traditional risk factors such as […]

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