Brittany Weber, Dana Weisenfeld, Elena Massarotti, Thany Seyok, Gabrielle Cremone, Ethan Lam, Charlotte Golnik, Seth Brownmiller, Feng Liu, Sicong Huang, Derrick J Todd, Jonathan S Coblyn, Michael E Weinblatt, Tianrun Cai, Kumar Dahal, Minna Kohler, Janeth Yinh, Leanne Barrett, Daniel H Solomon, Jorge Plutzky, Heinrich R Schelbert, Roxana Campisi, Marcy B Bolster, Marcelo Di Carli, Katherine P Liao
BACKGROUND: Coronary microvascular dysfunction as measured by myocardial flow reserve (MFR) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The objective of this study was to determine the association between reducing inflammation with MFR and other measures of cardiovascular risk. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with RA with active disease about to initiate a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor were enrolled (NCT02714881). All subjects underwent a cardiac perfusion positron emission tomography scan to quantify MFR at baseline before tumor necrosis factor inhibitor initiation, and after tumor necrosis factor inhibitor initiation at 24 weeks...
April 30, 2024: Journal of the American Heart Association