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.

Osteoarthritis

People with Osteoarthritis (OA) face a 24% higher risk of cardiovascular disease than the general population. Some medications to treat OA pain may not be suitable if a person has underlying high blood pressure or other heart disease risks. Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol levels low is an important part of managing health for people with OA. Discuss pain relief options and medications to reduce CVD risk with your GP. An OA healthy eating and movement plan to reduce the impact of osteoarthritis is also important for keeping your heart healthy.

Gout Arthritis

All patients with gout should have a CVD risk assessment. High uric acid levels are associated with increased cardiovascular risk. More than two out of every three people living with Gout Arthritis may have a very high risk of CVD, mainly hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke. It is very important for people diagnosed with gout arthritis to discuss the risk of heart disease with

their doctors. Allopurinol is an effective medicine for reducing gout attacks by reducing uric acid. It may also reduce the risk of heart disease; however, more research is required to confirm this. Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol levels low and reducing uric acid is important for managing health for people with gout arthritis. Some anti-inflammatory medications to reduce the pain of gout attacks may be harmful if you also have underlying CVD. Healthy eating and movement and keeping uric acid levels low are important to reduce the chance of gout arthritis flare-ups and are also important for keeping

Rheumatoid Arthritis and other autoimmune inflammatory arthritis

While Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune inflammatory arthritis are primarily joint diseases, they can affect other body parts, including the heart and blood vessels. Heart disease is the leading cause of early death (4 in 10) in people with RA. People are more likely to experience further serious heart problems or die after a heart attack if they have autoimmune conditions like RA. However, outcomes for people with autoimmune inflammatory arthritis have improved over the last 30 years, with earlier diagnosis and early treatment with diseasemodifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that aims to get inflammation as low as possible, as quickly as possible. It is very important for people diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis to discuss the risk of heart disease with their doctors. DMARDs to control inflammatory arthritis and a healthy eating and movement plan are also important for keeping your heart healthy.

For more information about heart health, visit the Heart Foundation website www.heartfoundation. org.nz or the Stroke Foundation website www.stroke.org.nz.