Study: Anti-TNF Therapies Reduce Risk of Heart Failure in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapies may lessen the risk of heart failure in rheumatoid arthritis patients, according to a study reported in the March issue of the American Journal of Medicine.

TNF is found at increased levels in the joint tissues of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and can help lead to inflammation and tissue destruction. Two currently available anti-TNF therapies are etanercept and infliximab.

Researchers at the University of Kansas School of Medicine sought to determine the frequency of heart failure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and the effects of using anti-TNF therapy.

In their study of 13,171 rheumatoid arthritis and 2,568 osteoarthritis patients, the researchers found that heart failure was more common among patients with rheumatoid arthritis -- 3.9% to 2.3%.

However in the rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with anti-TNF therapies, the researchers found heart failure to be significantly less common, occurring in just 3.1% of the 5,832 patients taking it, compared to 3.8 percent of the 7,339 patients not taking it.

Other sources: American Journal of Medicine. 2004 Mar 1;116(5):305-11