VIDEO: EULAR updates cardiovascular-disease risk recommendations

ROME – The European League Against Rheumatism introduced an update to its 2009 recommendations on assessing and managing cardiovascular-disease risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis.

The update features an expanded evidence base for the recommendations, especially for psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, Dr. Michael T. Nurmohamed said in an interview at the European Congress of Rheumatology. One new element in the revision included a scaling down of the previously suggested annual assessment to a more flexible approach to the timing of serial assessments based on the risk level of individual patients. Another addition is the possible use of carotid ultrasound to measure atherosclerotic burden as a complement to more routinely-measured risk factors such as blood pressure and serum lipids, said Dr. Nurmohamed, convener of the current task force as well as the panel that formulated the first version (Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2010;69:325-31).

A second EULAR task force recently developed new recommendations on assessing and managing other comorbidities in patients with rheumatologic diseases, such as osteoporosis, cancer, peptic ulcers, and renal dysfunction. Chronic kidney disease is an important modifier of cardiovascular-disease risk, and hence the new comorbidity recommendations complement the new cardiovascular-disease statement, said Dr. Nurmohamed, professor and head of the rheumatology research department at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

Dr. Nurmohamed had no disclosures.

[email protected]

On Twitter @mitchelzoler

ROME – The European League Against Rheumatism introduced an update to its 2009 recommendations on assessing and managing cardiovascular-disease risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis.

The update features an expanded evidence base for the recommendations, especially for psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, Dr. Michael T. Nurmohamed said in an interview at the European Congress of Rheumatology. One new element in the revision included a scaling down of the previously suggested annual assessment to a more flexible approach to the timing of serial assessments based on the risk level of individual patients. Another addition is the possible use of carotid ultrasound to measure atherosclerotic burden as a complement to more routinely-measured risk factors such as blood pressure and serum lipids, said Dr. Nurmohamed, convener of the current task force as well as the panel that formulated the first version (Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2010;69:325-31).

A second EULAR task force recently developed new recommendations on assessing and managing other comorbidities in patients with rheumatologic diseases, such as osteoporosis, cancer, peptic ulcers, and renal dysfunction. Chronic kidney disease is an important modifier of cardiovascular-disease risk, and hence the new comorbidity recommendations complement the new cardiovascular-disease statement, said Dr. Nurmohamed, professor and head of the rheumatology research department at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

Dr. Nurmohamed had no disclosures.

[email protected]

On Twitter @mitchelzoler

ROME – The European League Against Rheumatism introduced an update to its 2009 recommendations on assessing and managing cardiovascular-disease risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis.

The update features an expanded evidence base for the recommendations, especially for psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, Dr. Michael T. Nurmohamed said in an interview at the European Congress of Rheumatology. One new element in the revision included a scaling down of the previously suggested annual assessment to a more flexible approach to the timing of serial assessments based on the risk level of individual patients. Another addition is the possible use of carotid ultrasound to measure atherosclerotic burden as a complement to more routinely-measured risk factors such as blood pressure and serum lipids, said Dr. Nurmohamed, convener of the current task force as well as the panel that formulated the first version (Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2010;69:325-31).

A second EULAR task force recently developed new recommendations on assessing and managing other comorbidities in patients with rheumatologic diseases, such as osteoporosis, cancer, peptic ulcers, and renal dysfunction. Chronic kidney disease is an important modifier of cardiovascular-disease risk, and hence the new comorbidity recommendations complement the new cardiovascular-disease statement, said Dr. Nurmohamed, professor and head of the rheumatology research department at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

Dr. Nurmohamed had no disclosures.

[email protected]

On Twitter @mitchelzoler