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Does anyone else also have cardiomyopathy?

Been diagnosed with moderate to severe RA for about 15 months. Fortunate to find a combination of treatments that works. Last week, I was in the ER with chest pain and BP of 180/120. After overnight and many tests, I left empowered with the diagnosis of dilated Cardiomyopathy. This is basically a weakened left ventricle not pumping quite enough oxygenated blood through the body to get the job done. Hence, high BP as the body adjusts along with elevated red blood cells to carry more oxygen. The body is truly amazing! Well, as I prepare for the upcoming heart catheterization this Friday, I am witness to how well the treatment has worked. I’m off the DMARD and Biologic ahead of the procedure, and The gains of medication and physical therapy are (temporarily, I hope) slipping quickly away. Has anyone else with RA dealt with this diagnosis? I’m checking with the American Heart Association as well. Any and all information is appreciated.

  1. Hi Ercel3. Sorry to hear you are having these difficulties. There is research linking hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with RA. As this paper out of the National Library of Medicine database notes "Further studies are needed to elucidate a more accurate association between the above diseases:" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29531881. In addition, this article from one of our contributors looks at cardiovascular disease and RA: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/cardiovascular-disease-risk/. Your doctor should be able to provide further guidance of the linkage and how it may pertain to your case. Wishing you the best with the upcoming procedure and resuming RA treatment. If you like, please feel free to keep us posted on how you are doing. Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team)

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