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Risk of cardiovascular disease while on Prednisone.
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jul 8 11:59am | Replies (9)Comment receiving replies
This article is very informative and credible (#of patients is a healthy 89,000+, over a years long period).
After starting pred, I began to have new symptoms - tachycardia, and shortness of breath. My rheumatologist sent me for an echo cardiogram, and from there I saw a cardiologist. He actually told me more about PMR and pred than the rheumatologist.
The echo was fine, but the EKG showed a couple of abnormalities, enough to warrant a stress test.
The NIH study revealed new onset cardiac conditions even on low dose pred (5mg). 🤔
Thanks for the article. Preciate it.
Replies to "This article is very informative and credible (#of patients is a healthy 89,000+, over a years..."
This article and all your comments are so validating for me. I started prednisone at 40, then 30 mg in February, and within weeks developed PVCs and ventricular tachycardia with daily dizziness and shortness of breath. I have undergone extensive workup, including wearing a monitor for ten days, echocardiogram , stress test (which showed ischemia) and finally an angiogram a month ago. Everyone was very surprised that it showed clear coronary arteries. I was prepared for several stents to be placed. I have believed from day one that my arrhythmia was caused by prednisone use. My cardiologist doesn’t seem convinced. I see her again in six months, and she has offered me another two week monitor before then if I want. But….I am now on 12.5 mg prednisone, and feel much better.
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Yes ... I thought it was a quality study given the sample size and years involved. It is hard to evaluate how the study was actually done but most people don't care about that.
I think people forget that PMR/GCA aren't the only conditions that prednisone is used for. PMR/GCA patients are a relatively small group of older people. The numbers are more staggering when more inflammatory conditions are included in the study. Many inflammatiory conditions afflict younger people. The average age of patients in this study was 56 so more younger people are included than the typical PMR/GCA patient. "New onset" cardiovascular disease is a big deal for younger people.