Patients with rheumatoid arthritis displayed greater fluctuations in systolic blood pressure compared with patients without rheumatoid arthritis, increasing their cardiovascular and mortality risk, according to research presented at the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Madrid.
Cardiovascular disease was more likely to occur in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and more unstable systolic blood pressure, researcher Eric L. Matteson, MD, rheumatology chair at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., said in a press release. “Doctors should be particularly careful to manage [these patients’] cardiovascular risk.”
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