Cultural Adaptation and Development of an Educational Intervention Relating to Cardiovascular Disease Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis for South Asian People.

Background: The cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is elevated by 1.5 times among South Asians with rheumatological conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the UK. However, there is a dearth of culturally sensitive educational interventions tailored to this population.

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance for the Evaluation of Arrhythmogenic Substrates in Patients with Systemic Autoimmunity: An Update.

Patients with systemic autoimmunity due to autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) or sarcoidosis frequently present with systemic manifestations including cardiac involvement. Cardiac rhythm disturbances and specifically ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) may affect the prognosis of these patients. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is a non-invasive imaging modality that can provide valuable diagnostic and prognostic information in patients with ARDs or systemic autoimmunity in general.

Biological use influences the impact of inflammation on risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Chronic inflammation promotes cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) improve disease activity and cardiovascular disease outcomes. We explored whether bDMARDs influence the impact of disease activity and inflammatory markers on long-term cardiovascular risk in RA.

Artificial intelligence for cardiovascular disease risk assessment in personalised framework: a scoping review.

Background: The field of precision medicine endeavors to transform the healthcare industry by advancing individualised strategies for diagnosis, treatment modalities, and predictive assessments. This is achieved by utilizing extensive multidimensional biological datasets encompassing diverse components, such as an individual's genetic makeup, functional attributes, and environmental influences. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems, namely machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), have exhibited remarkable efficacy in predicting the potential occurrence of specific cancers and cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events and Venous Thromboembolism with JAK Inhibitors versus TNF Inhibitors in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the risk of major cardiovascular events (MACE) and venous thromboembolic events (VTE) between tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We researched PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov until December of 2023 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies.

Non-Invasive Assessment of Micro- and Macrovascular Function after Initiation of JAK Inhibitors in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Background: Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors constitute a novel class of oral biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, their use has been associated with increased risk of major cardiovascular events. We investigated whether treatment with JAK inhibitors exerts significant alterations in the micro- and microvasculature in RA patients.

Chronotropic Response and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at a high risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). A reduced chronotropic response (CR), which produces exercise intolerance, is known to be a contributing factor to CVD and mortality. Studies have shown that patients with RA have a reduced CR.

The interrater and test-retest reliability of 3 modalities of quantitative sensory testing in healthy adults and people with chronic low back pain or rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) modalities used to assess central pain mechanisms require different protocols in people with different musculoskeletal conditions.

Objectives: We aimed to explore the possible effects of musculoskeletal diagnosis and test site on QST interrater and test-retest reliability.

Methods: The study included participants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 18; QST conducted on lower leg) and low back pain (LBP, n = 25; QST conducted on forearm), plus 45 healthy control participants (n = 20 QST on lower leg and n = 25 QST on forearm).

Effects of lifestyle physical activity and sedentary behaviour interventions on disease activity and patient- and clinician- important health outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Background: Lifestyle physical activity (PA) is defined as any type of PA undertaken as part of daily life. It can include engagement in activities of daily living (i.e.

Artificial intelligence-based preventive, personalized and precision medicine for cardiovascular disease/stroke risk assessment in rheumatoid arthritis patients: a narrative review.

The challenges associated with diagnosing and treating cardiovascular disease (CVD)/Stroke in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) arise from the delayed onset of symptoms. Existing clinical risk scores are inadequate in predicting cardiac events, and conventional risk factors alone do not accurately classify many individuals at risk. Several CVD biomarkers consider the multiple pathways involved in the development of atherosclerosis, which is the primary cause of CVD/Stroke in RA.

New-onset systemic vasculitis following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination: the trigger, phenotype, and outcome.

The global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed the capacity of healthcare systems to cope with the rapidly spreading infection and its associated complications. Among these complications, autoimmune phenomena such as systemic vasculitis emerged as a significant challenge. Both the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the vaccines developed to combat it appeared to induce clinical manifestations resembling various types of systemic vasculitis, affecting large, medium, and small vessels.

Peripheral nailfold capillary microscopic abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis are associated with arterial stiffness: Results from a cross-sectional study.

Vascular injury eventually resulting in the establishment of cardiovascular disease is a serious complication in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) is a non-invasive imaging modality that enables the quantitative and qualitative assessment of the peripheral microvasculature. Nevertheless, capillaroscopic patterns remain inadequately defined in RA, especially regarding their clinical significance as potential markers of systemic vascular impairment.

Cardiovascular disease/stroke risk stratification in deep learning framework: a review.

The global mortality rate is known to be the highest due to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Thus, preventive, and early CVD risk identification in a non-invasive manner is vital as healthcare cost is increasing day by day. Conventional methods for risk prediction of CVD lack robustness due to the non-linear relationship between risk factors and cardiovascular events in multi-ethnic cohorts.

Cardiovascular risk in vasculitis.

The present review summarizes the burden, risk factors, biomarkers of and therapeutic consideration for cardiovascular disease in systemic vasculitis. Ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke are intrinsic features of Kawasaki disease, Takayasu arteritis, Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA), and Behcet's disease. The risk of IHD and stroke is increased in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) and cryoglobulinemic vasculitis.

Ensemble Deep Learning Derived from Transfer Learning for Classification of COVID-19 Patients on Hybrid Deep-Learning-Based Lung Segmentation: A Data Augmentation and Balancing Framework.

Background And Motivation: Lung computed tomography (CT) techniques are high-resolution and are well adopted in the intensive care unit (ICU) for COVID-19 disease control classification. Most artificial intelligence (AI) systems do not undergo generalization and are typically overfitted. Such trained AI systems are not practical for clinical settings and therefore do not give accurate results when executed on unseen data sets.

Combined Effects of Diet and Physical Activity on Inflammatory Joint Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Research evidence suggests that, individually, diet and physical activity are effective interventions for reducing levels of inflammation in inflammatory joint diseases (IJD), however little is known about their combined use. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects and/or associations of combined diet and physical activity interventions in IJD, specifically rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the spondyloarthropathies (SpA) (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022370993). Ten out of 11 eligible studies examined RA patients.

Number of days required to measure sedentary time and physical activity using accelerometery in rheumatoid arthritis: a reliability study.

This study aimed to determine the minimum number of days required to reliably estimate free-living sedentary time, light-intensity physical activity (LPA) and moderate-intensity physical activity (MPA) using accelerometer data in people with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), according to Disease Activity Score-28-C-reactive protein (DAS-28-CRP). Secondary analysis of two existing RA cohorts with controlled (cohort 1) and active (cohort 2) disease was undertaken. People with RA were classified as being in remission (DAS-28-CRP < 2.

Do Interleukin-1 and Interleukin-6 Antagonists Hold Any Place in the Treatment of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and Related Co-Morbidities? An Overview of Available Clinical Evidence.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) constitutes a real pandemic of the 21st century. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one person dies every 34 min due to some form of CVD in the United States. Apart from the extremely high morbidity and mortality accompanying CVD, the economic burden seems to be unbearable even for developed countries in the Western World.

The behavioural epidemiology of sedentary behaviour in inflammatory arthritis: where are we, and where do we need to go?

In the last decade, studies into sedentary behaviour in inflammatory arthritis have raised important questions regarding its role in this condition. Specifically, evidence is needed on whether sedentary behaviour might exacerbate adverse inflammatory arthritis outcomes, and whether reducing sedentary behaviour might offer an effective avenue for self-management in this population. Research exploring these important research questions is still very much in its infancy and lacks the direction and scientific rigour required to inform effective intervention design, delivery and evaluation.

Patterns and factors associated with pneumococcal vaccination in a prospective cohort of 1,697 patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk for serious infections. Pneumococcal vaccination is among the most important preventive measures, however, vaccine uptake is suboptimal. We explored the rate and factors associated with pneumococcal vaccination in a contemporary RA cohort.

Understanding and managing cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis.

Introduction: Cardiac involvement is common in systemic sclerosis occurring in up to 80% of patients. Primary myocardial dysfunction results from impairment of coronary microvascular circulation, myocardial inflammation and fibrosis with the prevalence of atherosclerosis remaining contradictory.

Areas Covered: This review presents the various aspects of cardiac involvement in SSc from a pathophysiological, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic standpoint.

Economics of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Diagnosis vs. Treatment.

: The price of medical treatment continues to rise due to (i) an increasing population; (ii) an aging human growth; (iii) disease prevalence; (iv) a rise in the frequency of patients that utilize health care services; and (v) increase in the price. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already well-known for its superiority in various healthcare applications, including the segmentation of lesions in images, speech recognition, smartphone personal assistants, navigation, ride-sharing apps, and many more. Our study is based on two hypotheses: (i) AI offers more economic solutions compared to conventional methods; (ii) AI treatment offers stronger economics compared to AI diagnosis.

The role of asymmetric dimethylarginine in endothelial dysfunction and abnormal nitric oxide metabolism in systemic sclerosis: results from a pilot study.

Introduction/objectives: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by generalized vasculopathy affecting mainly small vessels while macrovascular involvement is less investigated. The aim of this study was to examine associations between asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) - a biomarker of atherosclerosis - and assessments of macrovascular endothelial function in patients with SSc.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including consecutive SSc patients attending the Scleroderma Outpatient Clinic.