Rheumatoid arthritis and coronary arteritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with a variety of cardiac manifestations, particularly pericarditis, myocarditis and granulomas. Coronary arteritis has been detected in up to 20% of necropsy patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but involvement is usually confined to small arteries. 1 Rheumatoid-associated coronary arteritis rarely causes clinically evident myocardial infarction. We describe findings in a patient with rapidly progressive rheumatoid arthritis who had acute myocardial infarction from severe, generalized rheumatoid-associated coronary arteritis.