[Rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease]

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that usually involves the joints, tendons and bursae. The disease is systemic and may involve the brain, peripheral nerves, lungs, kidneys, heart and blood-vessels. All anatomical structures of the heart may be involved. Most reports on rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease are case reports and autopsy studies. Sonography studies from recent years show pathology in some heart structures at about the same rate as autopsy studies. Mortality studies from the last ten years provide evidence of increased cardiovascular mortality. The frequency of reported rheumatoid heart disease differs according to the method applied in the studies. Clinically significant disease is infrequent. We describe two cases with pericarditis and give a review of the literature.