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Cardiovascular Outcomes in the VA's Rheumatoid Arthritis(VARA) Population

NCT00431405 · Status: UNKNOWN · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 450

Last updated 2007-02-05

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a symmetric, peripheral polyarthritis of uncertain etiology that can lead to joint deformity and destruction. However, the effects of RA are not confined simply to joint involvement. Virtually every organ system can be affected by RA if left untreated. Of particular note is RA's affect on the cardiovascular system. RA patients have a reduced lifespan compared to the general population primarily due to an increased cardiovascular disease burden (1). Recently, RA has been linked to the development of preclinical atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries as measured by ultrasonography (2). Women with RA have also been shown to have an increased incidence of nonfatal myocardial infarctions (3). Despite these studies showing the effects of RA on the cardiovascular disease burden of those who are afflicted, no study to date has compared the number of cardiovascular events in a large RA patient population to a risk factor and age matched control group. Consequently it is the goal of this study to determine whether the cardiovascular event ratio in an RA patient cohort exceeds an age and risk factor matched cohort of non-RA patients. This study will also attempt to ascertain whether specific cardiovascular risk factors contribute to the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with RA and if any standard cardiovascular medicines disproportionately contribute to patient outcome.

Hypothesis: Given the increased cardiovascular disease burden associated with RA patients they are likely to suffer from a statistically significant increased risk of cardiovascular events when compared to an age and risk factor matched cohort.

Conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Centocor, Inc.

    collaborator INDUSTRY

  • Dallas VA Medical Center

    lead FED

Principal Investigators

  • Salahuddin Kazi, MBBS · Dallas VA Medical Center

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2006-08-31
Completion
2007-01-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00431405 on ClinicalTrials.gov