Management of cardiovascular disease risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis along with a risk of developing cardiovascular disease are complex cases for nurses to manage. Louise Murphy details the challenges associated Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic destructive autoimmune disease, characterised by symmetric synovitis. The aetiology of rheumatoid arthritis is complex and largely unknown. Comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) are frequently observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis due to a combination of disease and genetic factors. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in people with rheumatoid arthritis ( Aletaha and Smolen 2018 ) with a 45-60% increased mortality rate due to cardiovascular related events compared to the general population. General practice nurses are in a unique position to be able to provide guidance, advice and support to patients with rheumatoid arthritis who need to make lifestyle changes to reduce CVD risk. General practice nurses can also screen for traditional CVD risk factors and undertake cardiovascular disease risk assessment safely and effectively to identify those patients with rheumatoid arthritis who are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the future.