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Cardiovascular morbidity in rheumatoid arthritis patients in North Canterbury, New Zealand 1999–2008
Author(s) -
Khan Emon A. R.,
Stamp Lisa K.,
O'Donnell John L.,
Chapman Peter T.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of rheumatic diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1756-185X
pISSN - 1756-1841
DOI - 10.1111/1756-185x.12008
Subject(s) - medicine , rheumatoid arthritis , population , cohort , disease , environmental health
Aim Cardiovascular disease is a substantial contributor to increased morbidity and mortality in rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ). The aim of this audit was to determine the rate of cardiovascular events in a cohort of newly diagnosed RA patients. Method The inpatient clinical database from C hristchurch H ospital, C hristchurch, N ew Z ealand, was searched using the I nternational C lassification of D iseases 9th R evision ( ICD 9) and 10 codes representing RA and cardiovascular disease between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2008. Notes were reviewed with additional demographic and medication data sought. Outpatient data for RA patients was collated from the R heumatology D epartment's letter database. Results Four hundred and six patients were identified with combined ICD 9 or 10 codes for RA and ischemic heart disease, of whom 194 had a confirmed myocardial event. Of these, 34 were diagnosed with RA between January 1999 and December 2008 prior to their myocardial event. K aplan– M eier analysis showed risk of a cardiovascular event at 1 and 10 years was 0.64% and 9.4%, respectively. There were 26 confirmed deaths in the study period. The risk of death at 1 and 10 years was 0.48% and 8.16%, respectively. Conclusion We have shown a relatively low prevalence of cardiovascular events in this RA population diagnosed within a 10 year period. This is consistent with other reports and likely reflects the short follow‐up period. Prospective longer‐term studies will be required to further investigate the relative contribution of disease activity and other parameters to cardiovascular events in patients with early RA .