Rheumatoid Arthritis May Boost Women's Heart Risk
 (NY, Reuters Health, 2/17/03)

When Dr. Daniel Solomon of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues, examined the statistics for more than 114,000 women who participated in the longterm Nurses Health Study, the researchers found that women with rheumatoid arthritis were twice as likely to suffer heart attacks as their peers. Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by an inflammatory process induced when the immune system attacks joint tissue. Studies have linked the presence of chronic inflammation to an increased risk of heart disease; so, while the exact connection between the 2 disease processes is unclear, researchers have noted that chronic inflammation is an element that both conditions have in common.