Arthritis and Heart Disease: You Can Lower Your Risk

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may have up to twice the risk for heart disease as people without arthritis, which is similar to the risk faced by people with type 2 diabetes. People with other types of inflammatory arthritis, which includes psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and lupus, also may have increased heart disease risk. The connection between arthritis and heart disease is an active area of research, and many questions remain unanswered.