Arthritis and Heart Health

By Valerie Milne

Keeping our hearts healthy is essential for everybody, but even more so for people with arthritis. Information from the US shows that nearly half of all adults with heart disease also have arthritis. Australian research has found that 30.7% of middle-aged adults with arthritis and 70.4% of older adults with arthritis have at least one cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor.

The good news is that the changes you can make for living well with arthritis and taking medications to control inflammatory rheumatic diseases will work to keep your heart healthy. It is important for people who are told they have a form of arthritis and have not previously been assessed for heart disease risk to talk to their medical team (usually their GP) about medications for arthritis and how they might affect heart health.