Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Association With Immune Activation

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Rheumatology
• Immunology

Background:

• Hypertension is a significant cardiovascular risk factor.
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased hypertension prevalence.
• Immune activation may contribute to hypertension in RA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare ambulatory 24-hour blood pressure (BP) in RA patients versus controls.
• To investigate the association between elevated BP and immune activation in RA.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 46 RA patients and 23 controls.
• Ambulatory BP monitoring (24-hour, diurnal, nocturnal).
• Plasma inflammatory mediators measured; BP differences assessed by Mann-Whitney U test; correlations by Spearman.

Main Results:

• RA patients exhibited higher median 24-hour, diurnal, and nocturnal systolic BP (SBP) compared to controls.
• Nocturnal diastolic BP (DBP) was also higher in RA patients.
• Reduced nocturnal BP dipping was observed in RA patients, strongly correlating with inflammatory mediators.

Conclusions:

• Ambulatory BP, particularly nocturnal SBP, is elevated in RA patients despite similar office BP.
• Elevated BP in RA is significantly associated with systemic inflammation.