AB1169 RHEUMATOLOGY PATIENT PERCEPTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISKS: A SURVEY AT A TEACHING HOSPITAL
Authors: N. Jain, A. Manivannan, A. Mahesh, A. Moorthy
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

Background: It is well known that individuals with rheumatological conditions are at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular diseases (CVS) and they are the most common cause of mortality. However, there is still lack of awareness about the CVS risk among Rheumatology patients. We carried out a patient survey to assess their awareness and perception of CVS risk associated with their condition. We also assessed if the health professionals attending to these patients gave adequate education to the patients regarding the CVS risk. Objectives: To study awareness about CVS risks among rheumatology patients Methods: This was a prospective cross sectional survey where in multiple-choice questionnaires were distributed to consecutive patients attending rheumatology clinic. The questionnaire contained 18 questions including demographics, diagnosis, medications and their awareness of cardiovascular risks associated with their underlying rheumatic conditions. We also explored as patient attempted any Primary preventive measures for reducing the CVS risk. Results: We collected data of 57 patients with 47% of patients were above 60 years of age with Female: Male ratio of 3:1. Rheumatoid arthritis was the most common diagnosis (60%) with others including AS (22%), SLE(5%). 32% of patients had been suffering from inflammatory disorder for &gt;10 years and 44% believed their disease was still not fully controlled. 37% had family history of heart diseases. More than half of the patients (56%) were unaware of cardiovascular risks associated with their condition and 65% overall reported that they were not personally informed about these risks by the treating health professionals. When we analysed the newly diagnosed patients (&lt;5years) 64% were unaware about the CVS risks which is higher compared to patients with diagnosis of &gt;5 years. We tried to explore any ethnic differences, however the number is too small to compare. We noted that around 60% of white British with rheumatological diagnosis were not aware of CVS risk in our group. When further asked about the primary preventive measures, only 23% engage in exercise, 21% have made diet changes, 12% take aspirin, 16% have quit smoking and only 5% quit alcohol. Conclusion: This was a small pilot study to look at the patient awareness of CVS risks associated with rheumatological conditions. Clearly there is lack of awareness among patients about CVS risks. Furthermore, most of the patients reported they were not educated about the risks from the health professionals. Majority do not engage in any kind of primary preventive measure for heart diseases. It is crucial that the health professionals actively educate patients regarding the CVS risks and the various methods through which these can be prevented. We believe patient-targeted educational programmes and behavioural interventions can be incorporated for holistic patient management. References: [1]John, Holly et al. Inflammatory arthritis as a novel risk factor for cardiovascular disease European Journal of Internal Medicine, Volume 23, Issue 7, 575 – 579 Disclosure of Interests: Nibha Jain: None declared, Anukripa Manivannan: None declared, Aswin Mahesh: None declared, Arumugam Moorthy Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Novartis,UCB,MSD