medwireNews: EULAR has issued recommendations for managing cardiovascular (CV) risk in people with antiphospholipid syndrome, gout, mixed connective tissue disease, myositis, Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, or vasculitis.
Maria Tektonidou (University of Athens, Greece) and co-authors say that EULAR guidance on CV risk management in patients with inflammatory arthritis is already available, but “[a]ccumulating evidence has shown elevated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in other rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases [RMDs],” prompting development of the current recommendations.
These recommendations were developed by a multidisciplinary task force on the basis of a systematic literature review and expert opinion. They include four overarching principles emphasizing the importance of increased awareness, regular screening, management of modifiable risk factors, and patient education, as well as 19 specific recommendations covering prediction tools and interventions.
Tektonidou and team also developed a future research agenda, which includes development of disease-specific tools for CV risk prediction and long-term studies on whether current and new RMD drugs impact CV risk.
“The panel believes that these recommendations will enable healthcare providers and patients to mutually engage in a long-term care pathway tailored to patients’ needs and expectations for improving cardiovascular health in RMDs,” write the authors in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
They note that as new data become available, “this first set of ‘best available’ evidence on cardiovascular [disease] prevention” will be updated.
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