Hydroxychloroquine and Reducing Cardiovascular Inflammation and Atherosclerosis

ByPrimary Researcher

Executive Summary

  • Hydroxychloroquine is both an immunomodulator and an anti-inflammatory for the overall body and for the cardiovascular system.

Introduction

Hydroxychloroquine has a specific benefit that is almost never mentioned and for which it is not approved by the FDA. This is its specific anti-inflammatory effect on the cardiovascular system.

The Connection Between Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Reduction of Vascular Inflammation Due to Hydroxychloroquine

This quote is from the website Drugs.com on Hydroxychloroquine.

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the addition of a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor (TNFi) or addition of sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine (triple therapy) to methotrexate results in clinically important improvements in vascular inflammation, according to a study recently published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. Changes in arterial inflammation were examined as an index of cardiovascular risk, measured as an arterial target-to-background ratio (TBR) in the carotid arteries and aorta.

Study into the Results Of Hydroxychloroquine on Arthritis Patients on Cardiovascular Events

These quotes are from the article Hydroxychloroquine Use Is Associated With Decreased Incident Cardiovascular Events in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.

Mortality is increased 2-fold in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in these patients. Although traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis account for some of this risk, having a diagnosis of RA also puts one at risk, likely due, at least in part, to the adverse effects of chronic inflammation on the vasculature.

The Study Test Subjects

We identified 1459 eligible patients with RA. After excluding 192 patients with prevalent CVD and 1 patient with medical record inconsistencies, 1266 patients were included in the final analysis, with 547 hydroxychloroquine users and 719 nonusers. Median observation time was 6.0 years (25th–75th percentiles 3.1–9.9 years). The median time for hydroxychloroquine exposure was 2.3 years (25th–75th percentiles 0.95–4.8 years). The median time for hydroxychloroquine onset after the RA diagnosis was 1.76 years (25th–75th percentiles 0.63–4.62 years). Patients were predominantly female (80%), 97% white, and 51% rheumatoid factor positive, with a mean age of 56.3 years (13.9 years). The average dose of hydroxychloroquine was 400 mg/day.13 Patient characteristics according to hydroxychloroquine exposure are shown in Table 1.

In this inception cohort of RA patients, treatment with hydroxychloroquine was independently associated with a 72% reduction in all incident CVD events and a 70% reduction in the risk of incident composite CAD, stroke, and TIA.

CVD stands for cardiovascular disease.