Left ventricular function in treatment-naive early rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: The role of inflammation and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unclear. Previous studies have suggested that both disease activity and disease duration are associated with atherosclerosis and a higher mortality rate caused primarily by coronary artery disease.

Objective: We investigated how disease activity, anti-CCP status and coronary calcium score in treatment-naive early RA impacts left ventricular (LV) systolic function.