Re: risk of heart attack reduced if RA is controlled (LONG)



Good news and bad news if you are including Embrel in that list of drugs which has the lymphoma side effect. A long time Embrel user, I ended up with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma which, if my Doctor had not caught it at that particular moment in time I would not be writing this.

I will agree that I have excellent heart health at the moment. I had been a long rime user of Methotrexate which i had to give up because it was causing damage to my lungs. I am on a maintenance dose of 5MG Prednisone, down from much higher doses over at least fifteen years.

My Doctor has said in many respects I am lucky to be as good as I am because I was first diagnosed with RA in 1973 at age 39. Long before many of the drugs and procedures were available. I started my long trek
of joint replacement with bilateral knee replacements at age 43 (the youngest patients ever to have the procedure at Cleveland Clinic). It
was a diagnosis of either have the procedure or spent the rest of my life in a wheel chair. That started the long path to bilateral shoulder replacement, bilateral ankle fusion, bilateral wrist fusion, fusion of the fingers on my left hand, fusion of the toes on my left foot, and left hip replacement.

I am very thankful to be benefiting from many of the new drugs and medical advancements. Even though I have been relegated to wearing leg
braces with attached extra depth shoes because of my susceptibility to stress fractures in my lower legs, because of the fused ankles. It robbed me of my ability to drive a car beginning in the mid 1990's.

At age 74 I still enjoy taking my Papplion for her walks on nice days, helping with the flower beds, watch TV, enjoying my photography and computer. I listen to my Ipod and my wife keeps me abreast in the news magazine because my cataracts make it difficult for me to read the smaller print. I am still able to go shopping with my wife and go for short walks around town and at special events.

Don Whitely

Harv

"RoseB" <Imarosab.1@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:t49et3pc24i6k60gnfog1qqg2ccl6d0b2f@xxxxxxxxxx

Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs May Lower Heart Attack, Stroke Risk

THURSDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- People taking medications for
rheumatoid arthritis may also be reducing their risk of heart attack
and stroke, a new study suggests.

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which causes pain, swelling,
stiffness and loss of function in the joints, face a greater risk of
cardiovascular disease, because it can lead to hardening of the
arteries. Heart attack and stroke can occur 10 years earlier than in
people without the condition, the researchers said.

By taking medications that reduce the inflammation caused by
rheumatoid arthritis, the risk of heart attack and stroke may be
significantly reduced, the study authors said.

"Our study demonstrated that the time of exposure both to
disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and biological agents is
associated with a reduction of the risk of cardiovascular events,"
said lead researcher Dr. Antonio Naranjo, of the Universidad de Las
Palmas de Gran Canaria, in Spain.

Those drugs include common RA medications such as methotrexate,
sulfasalazine, glucocorticoids, leflunomide and biological agents such
as TNF-alpha blockers, the researchers noted.

Naranjo said doctors know that by controlling the chronic inflammation
caused by rheumatoid arthritis, it's possible to reduce cardiovascular
risk. "The practical consequence of our work is that in patients with
RA, especially in the most severe cases, both the classic
cardiovascular risk factors and the inflammatory activity of the
disease need to be controlled," he said.

For the study, Naranjo's team analyzed data on 4,363 patients who took
part in the Quantitative Patient Questionnaires in Standard Monitoring
of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis study. The researchers found
that taking drugs such as methotrexate lowered the risk of a heart
attack or stroke. For example, RA patients taking methotrexate for one
year can reduce their risk of heart attack by 18 percent and stroke by
11 percent, the investigators reported.

"Methotrexate, other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and
biologic agents could reduce the extra risk of myocardial infarction
[heart attack] and stroke that patients with rheumatoid arthritis have
by controlling inflammation," Naranjo said.

The findings were published in the March 5 issue of Arthritis Research
& Therapy.

One heart expert thinks this retrospective study is intriguing, but it
didn't really determine if the medications for controlling
inflammation actually lowered the risk of heart attack and stroke.

"While certain associations are shown between the use of
anti-inflammatory agents and prior cardiovascular events in patients
with rheumatoid arthritis, a cause-and-effect relationship cannot be
demonstrated in this type of study," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a
professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Prospective data and, ultimately, prospective randomized clinical
trials are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn about
whether these drugs really lower the risk of heart attack and stroke,
he said.


SOURCES: Antonio Naranjo, M.D., Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria, Spain; Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., professor, cardiology,
University of California, Los Angeles; March 5, 2008, Arthritis
Research & Therapy


Publish Date: March 06, 200
Rose @}>->--
Being educated means that rather than fearing the unknown, one seeks to understand it. RB

Please remove "Ima" to reply.



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