(Source: American College of Cardiology Foundation) Introduction Inflammation plays a crucial role in the process of atherogenesis. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with chronic inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc), chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and psoriasis. Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases have an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, peripheral vascular disease (PVD), and cardiomyopathy that may not be fully captured by traditional CVD risk factors, such as dyslipidemia, aging, hypertension, and...
↧