Dermal capillary rarefaction as a marker of microvascular damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Association with inflammation and disorders of the macrocirculation.

Capillary rarefaction appears pronounced in RA and correlates with lower cardiac output, increased arterial stiffness, and cardiovascular risk. However, the associations with macrocirculatory disorders may be obscured by inflammation, which appears as the major contributor to capillary rarefaction in RA.