Researchers studied this population because rheumatoid arthritis patients generally die earlier than others. Researchers say the suspected reason for this was heart failure, but they did not expect the incidence to be so high.

The study showed patients with rheumatoid arthritis are at an increased risk for heart failure soon after the onset of arthritis, and this risk continues throughout the course of their chronic disease. Researchers also found the factors were unrelated to heart attacks and the traditional risk factors such as diabetes, alcohol abuse, and high cholesterol.

They say, "This suggests another mechanism is at work. We suspect that it has something to do with the underlying inflammation that occurs in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Another possibility is that patients with rheumatoid arthritis are particularly vulnerable to develop heart disease through a mechanism that we don't yet understand."

Rates of heart failure were about the same in both women and men, opposed to what is found in the general population with higher rates in men. Researchers say, "This suggests that whatever protects women from heart failure compared with men in the general population is not the same in patients with rheumatoid arthritis."

The next step is for researchers to determine what measures rheumatoid arthritis patients can take in preventing heart failure.

SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2005;52:412-420