Arthritis research & therapy
-
Arthritis Res. Ther. · Jan 2013
Arterial hypertension assessed "out-of-office" in a contemporary cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients free of cardiovascular disease is characterized by high prevalence, low awareness, poor control and increased vascular damage-associated "white coat" phenomenon.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, whereas arterial hypertension is a major modifiable CVD risk factor with still unclear prevalence in RA disease. We conducted a comprehensive study on hypertension characteristics evaluating for the first time out-of-office blood pressure (BP) in a typical contemporary RA cohort. ⋯ Beyond any doubt on the basis of out-of-office evaluation, arterial hypertension in RA has a high prevalence, low awareness and poor control, as well as substantial and vascular damage-associated "white coat" phenomenon. Thus, correct diagnosis and effective treatment of hypertension is of key importance in RA for CVD risk reduction.