Ľubomír Tomáš, Ivica Lazúrová
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease with the most substantial impairment of joints. Its prevalence rises with age reaching the maximum around 70 years of life with subsequent lowering in concequence of the early mortality. The life expectancy in RA is shorter about 3–10 years. Cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of increased mortality. The impairment of cardiovascular system, mainly heart, is often and for a long time asymptomatic and its signs occur in advanced stages. The most frequent cardiovascular diseases connecting with RA are pericarditis and valve diseases. The influence on development and progression of ischemic heart disease and heart failure is still uncertain. However reults of some studies indicate a necessary to consider RA or its treatment to be cardiovascular risk factors.