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You can reduce your risk by ensuring your arthritis is well controlled and by:įind out more about preventing CVD. It's not clear exactly why people with rheumatoid arthritis are at an increased risk of these problems. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you're at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).ĬVD is a general term that describes conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels, and it includes life-threatening problems such as heart attack and stroke.
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These problems sometimes need to be treated with surgery to prevent loss of function in the affected joints. damage to nearby tendons (flexible tissue that attach muscle to bone), which could cause them to break (rupture).damage to nearby bone and cartilage (a tough, flexible material that covers the surface of joints).Problems that can affect the joints include: If rheumatoid arthritis is not treated early or is not well controlled, the inflammation in your joints could lead to significant and permanent damage. However, with early treatment, inflammation in other parts of the body from rheumatoid arthritis is less likely. In serious cases, it can affect blood flow to your body's organs and tissues and can be life threatening blood vessels – inflammation of the blood vessels, known as vasculitis, is the thickening, weakening, narrowing and scarring of blood vessel walls.Scleritis can cause eye redness and pain, whereas Sjögren's syndrome can cause dry eyes eyes – inflammation of the eyes can lead to scleritis or Sjögren's syndrome.heart – inflammation of the tissue around the heart can lead to pericarditis, which causes chest pain.lungs – inflammation of the lungs or lung lining can lead to pleurisy or pulmonary fibrosis, which can cause chest pain, a persistent cough and shortness of breath.
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Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition which can cause inflammation to develop in other parts of your body, such as the: Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can sometimes be controlled with wrist splints or steroid injections, although surgery to release the pressure on the median nerve may be needed in severe cases.įind out more about treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome. tingling in your thumb, fingers and part of the hand.It's caused by compression of the nerve that controls sensation and movement in the hands (median nerve) and has symptoms such as: Carpal tunnel syndromeĬarpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Some of these conditions are described below. Rheumatoid arthritis can put you at a higher risk of developing other conditions, particularly if it's not well controlled.
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