Prevalence of arterial stiffness and factors associated with arterial stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis patients without cardiovascular disease symptoms: a cross- sectional study

Asymptomatic peripheral arterial stiffness is an intermediary outcome of atherosclerosis which leads to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. We conducted this study to determine the prevalence of arterial stiffness as measured by cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) in RA patients compared to controls, and to assess factors associated with arterial stiffness in RA patients. This stratified cross-sectional study was performed on 48 confirmed RA patients without overt cardiovascular disease and 51 controls matched for age and sex. All subjects underwent CAVI and ankle-brachial index (ABI). Arterial stiffness prevalence measured by CAVI was significantly high in the RA group (18.8%) than that in the control (17.6%). So was the respective difference in mean (SD) 8.2 (1.1) vs 7.7 (1.2). No subject in either group had abnormal ABI. Independent variables associated with high CAVI values included low and moderate disease activity, high age and high systolic blood pressure (SBP). This study may imply cardiovascular benefit to reduce RA disease activity especially among those with existing other cardiovascular risk factor.