The frequency of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The authors studied the frequency of coronary heart disease (CHD) and myocardial infarction (MI) in 500 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients (116 men and 384 women). Almost 75% RA patients received 15.0-50.0 g of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) monthly for above 4 years. The authors did not find significant differences in the frequency of CHD risk factors in the group of RA patients and in the Polish population of similar age. The authors noted only 2 cases of MI and 2 cases of CHD in 500 RA patients. All these patients received ASA irregularly and in small doses. The morbidity coefficient analysis showed that MI is 3-times less frequent in RA patients than in the Polish population. The authors suppose that long-term ASA treatment is one of the factors reducing the risk of CHD and MI probably by inhibition of the platelet function.