Rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining of the small joints of your feet and hands. It can be a painful and disfiguring disease and is categorized as a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder that results in bone attrition and joint deformity. Rheumatoid arthritis can also cause fatigue and fevers with women being affected two to three times more often than men. As of 2011, no cure is available.
Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis, RA, may come and go as flare-ups and remissions. As your immune system assaults the lining of the membranes of your joints, inflammation destroys the bone and cartilage. This results in a weakening and stretching of the tendons and ligaments of the joint. Risk factors for RA include sex, genetic predisposition, age and smoking. A 2009 research article in "Arthritis Research and Therapy" found that as the severity of RA increased, so did the occurrence of coronary artery calcification, or atherosclerosis, which is in turn linked to increased triglyceride levels.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides are fats that are in your food and your body. They are part of the plasma lipids that include cholesterol. These lipids are carried in your blood and are needed for energy. Any triglycerides that are not immediately used for energy production become stored in fat cells to be used at a later date. A normal triglyceride measurement is less than 150 mg/dL. Anything above 199 mg/dL is considered high and may pose a risk to your health.
Hypertriglyceridemia and RA
Hypertriglyceridemia, or high serum triglycerides, is an over abundance of fatty molecules in your blood and is associated with atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. The fats, or triglycerides, build up on your artery walls forming plaques and narrowing and hardening the artery. If a plaque bursts, pieces of it may cause a blood clot leading to stroke or heart attack. People who have rheumatoid arthritis tend to be more prone to coronary artery disease and high triglyceride levels.
Cardiovascular Disease
Individuals who have rheumatoid arthritis have a substantial increase in cardiovascular disease than most people, according to a 2002 study in "Arthritis Research and Therapy." The study evaluated 79 RA patients and found that people with rheumatoid arthritis were four times as likely to experience a cardiovascular event than the general population. This finding was linked to low HDL, or good cholesterol, and high triglyceride levels.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Rheumatoid Arthritis
- "Arthritis Research and Therapy"; Coronary Arterial Calcification in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Comparison with the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis; Jon T Giles, et al.; March 2009
- American Heart Association: Triglycerides
- "Arthritis Research and Therapy"; Cardiovascular Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis Versus Osteoarthritis: Acute Phase Response Related Decreased Insulin Sensitivity and High-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol as well as Clustering of Metabolic Syndrome Features in Rheumatoid Arthritis; Patrick H Dessein; June 2002
