Role of inflammation for heart disease
Autoimmune diseases are important risk factors for heart disease in women. AutoHeart project further explores this at the Centre for Research on Cardiac Disease in Women at the University of Bergen, funded by the Grieg Foundation.
Autoimmune diseases
In autoimmune diseases, the immune system accidentally attacks its own body. Why this happens is not fully known, but we know that autoimmune diseases are much more common in women than men. Rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome and psoriasis are examples of common autoimmune disorders. In all these diseases, there is inflammation in the body, affecting the joints, the eyes, or the skin. Recent research indicates that this inflammation also negatively affects the heart, which is the focus of the AutoHeart project.
The AutoHeart project
The project is a collaboration between the Departments of Rheumatology, Dermatology and Heart Disease at Haukeland University Hospital and the Centre for Research on Cardiac Disease in Women at the University of Bergen.
The aim of the AutoHeart is to explore the role of autoimmune diseases and anti-inflammatory treatment for the development of heart disease. The project have examined three groups of patients, including patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome and psoriasis, with advanced ultrasound methods, cardiac magnetic resonance imagining as well as assessment of arterial stiffness. These methods can detect small changes in the heart, before heart disease develops.
What have we learned so far?
The AutoHeart project is based on previous research from our group in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patients with active rheumatoid arthritis had considerably more damage in the heart compared with patients with well-controlled disease. This led us to the current project where we are testing if it is possible to reverse the damage in the heart with anti-inflammatory treatment.
Patients with severe psoriasis did not have increased risk of heart damage when compared to a control group with the same risk factors for heart disease. High blood pressure was the main factor associated with heart damage in psoriasis patients. The degree of heart damage was related to the extent of inflammation, pointing to a role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of heart damage in psoriasis.
“Autoimmune diseases are risk factors for heart disease that affects women disproportionately. Research indicates that anti-inflammatory treatment is also beneficial for the heart”.
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