Key clinical point: Use of methotrexate significantly reduced the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, particularly heart failure (HF)-related hospitalizations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Major finding: Use of methotrexate was associated with a significant 24% reduced risk for composite CVD events (hazard ratio [HR], 0.76; P = .04), including a 57% lower risk for HF hospitalizations (HR, 0.43; P = .005).
Study details: The data come from a prospective cohort study of 2,044 US veterans with RA.
Disclosures: The work was supported by Centre of Excellence for Suicide Prevention and Joint Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense Mortality Data Repository—National Death Index. MD George reported receiving grant support from Bristol Myers Squibb for unrelated work.
Source: Johnson TM et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 May 28. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-220125 .