Are Patients With Systemic Sclerosis Subject to an Increased Risk of Developing Superficial Erosion of Atherosclerotic Plaques?

Various inflammatory rheumatic diseases (RDs) are associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular (CV) disease. Increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has been reported in inflammatory arthritis (including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, and spondyloarthritis) and connective tissue disease (including vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and systemic sclerosis [SSc]).