Inflammation and the Heart

Inflammation and the Heart

Studies have shown that people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a higher rate of heart disease than people that do not have RA. we believe this is caused by the inflammation produced by RA.

Aim 1: We want to study people with RA to see if we can detect very early changes in their heart muscle and compare these results to people who do not have RA.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Written informed consent
• Age >= 18
• RA only: meet American College of Rheumatology(ACR)criteria for Diagnosis of RA
• Controls only: no evidence of RA or other inflammatory disease

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previous or current heart failure or ischemic cardiovascular disease (eg stroke, myocardial infarction, angina, CABG, stent).
• Atrial fibrillation.
• Known structural or functional cardiac abnormality, including pulmonary htn.
• Glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min.
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
• Unable to perform MRI (claustrophobia, unable to fit in magnet,pacemaker,defibrillator or non-MR safe implant).
• Hypersensitivity to gadolinium.