Cardiovascular Outcomes in the VA's Rheumatoid Arthritis(VARA) Population

Status unconfirmed

Conditions studied: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Cardiovascular Disease, Coronary Disease

In brief

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a symmetric, peripheral polyarthritis of uncertain etiology that can lead to joint deformity and destruction. However, the effects of RA are not confined simply to joint involvement. Virtually every organ system can be affected by RA if left untreated. Of particular note is RA's affect on the cardiovascular system. RA patients have a reduced lifespan compared to the general population primarily due to an increased cardiovascular disease burden (1). Recently, RA has been linked to the development of preclinical atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries as measured by ultrasonography (2). Women with RA have also been shown to have an increased incidence of nonfatal myocardial infarctions (3). Despite these studies showing the effects of RA on the cardiovascular disease burden of those who are afflicted, no study to date has compared the number of cardiovascular events in a large RA patient population to a risk factor and age matched control group. Consequently it is the goal of this study to determine whether the cardiovascular event ratio in an RA patient cohort exceeds an age and risk factor matched cohort of non-RA patients. This study will also attempt to ascertain whether specific cardiovascular risk factors contribute to the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with RA and if any standard cardiovascular medicines disproportionately contribute to patient outcome. Hypothesis: Given the increased cardiovascular disease burden associated with RA patients they are likely to suffer from a statistically significant increased risk of cardiovascular events when compared to an age and risk factor matched cohort.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT00431405
Run by
Dallas VA Medical Center
People needed
450
Starts
2006-08-01
Expected to finish
2007-01-01
Last updated by the study team
2007-02-05

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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