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The heart in inflammatory myopathies.
Howard Van Gelder1, Christina Charles-Schoeman
1Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Rheumatic Diseases Clinics of North America
|November 26, 2013
Summary
Patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) face increased cardiovascular disease risks, often with subclinical involvement. Early cardiovascular risk assessment and management are crucial for improving outcomes in these patients.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Cardiology
- Immunology
Background:
- Systemic autoimmune diseases, including idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), are increasingly associated with accelerated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks.
- A significant percentage of IIM patients exhibit subclinical cardiovascular involvement, even if not clinically apparent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the link between idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and cardiovascular disease.
- To highlight the prevalence of subclinical cardiac involvement in IIM patients.
- To emphasize the need for cardiovascular risk assessment in IIM patients.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and cardiovascular complications.
- Analysis of traditional cardiovascular risk factors in IIM patients.
- Discussion of current treatment strategies and areas for future research.
Main Results:
- Traditional cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension and hyperlipidemia are linked to cardiac involvement in IIM.
- The interplay between chronic inflammation and traditional risk factors in driving CVD in IIM remains unclear.
- IIM patients with cardiac involvement have a higher risk of overall mortality.
Conclusions:
- Routine cardiovascular risk assessment is imperative for IIM patients at diagnosis.
- Management should focus on preventing traditional cardiovascular risk factors and addressing cardiac complications promptly.
- Further research is needed on the impact of immunosuppression, statin use, and advanced diagnostics for CVD in IIM.
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