Atherogenesis in rheumatology.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by immune cell activation, inflammation driven plaque formation and subsequent destabilization. In other disorders of an inflammatory nature, the chronic inflammatory state per se has been linked to acceleration of the atherosclerotic process which is underlined by an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and antiphopholipid (Hughes) syndrome (APS). In addition to systemic inflammation, additional mechanisms have been put forward that are more specific for the pathophysiology of the individual chronic inflammatory disorders.