Rheumatism increases heart attack risk

Rheumatism causes the heart attack risk to rise. If rheumatism is detected and treated early on, patients also protect their heart.

As the German Society of Rheumatology announced, rheumatism also increases stroke and heart attack risk. In a rheumatic disease, not only the joints, but also the walls of the blood vessels are inflamed. Rheumatism patients more often suffer from calcification of the vessels.

Patients with rheumatic disease have an increased heart attack risk. The risk increases by 30 to 60 percent. The risk of heart attack increases again when additional factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, smoking or increased blood lipid levels are added. As the Society for Rheumatology announced, it is essential that rheumatism is treated early, so that the heart is not burdened. Here, for example, anti-inflammatory drugs many rheumatism drugs have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system. In Germany, about half a million people (440,000) suffer from rheumatism. At the planned congress, the company wants to discuss further effective measures against rheumatism and secondary diseases.

In many rheumatic diseases, it comes in advance to a disorder of the immune system, the human organism attacks its own structures such as the synovial membrane. The result is chronic inflammation of the joints associated with severe pain for the patients. It comes to swelling, effusions of the joints to the destruction of the joints. Conventionally, rheumatism is treated with anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. Options also offer natural remedies such as dandelion, stinging nettles, birch leaves. (Sb)