Rheumatoid arthritis
is a common and painful medical condition, affecting about 1 percent of the population. It usually manifests as pain in the joints, though it can also affect other parts of the body. These are known as its extra-articular manifestations. Rheumatoid arthritis is thought to be a result of autoimmune reactions.
The Short Answer is No...
While rheumatoid arthritis, by itself, does not cause heart palpitations, it can contribute to a host of other health conditions, some of which can cause heart palpitations.
Anemia
Take, for instance, anemia. Anemia is, by far, one of the most common extra-articular symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Anemia, which is defined by dangerously low numbers of red blood cells, or by a relatively normal number of red blood cells but with the low blood cells bearing too little hemoglobin between them. And as it turns out, one of the major symptoms of anemia is heart palpitations. If a person happens to experience heart palpitations as a result of anemia that has in turn been caused by rheumatoid arthritis, then clearly the heart palpitations are ultimately attributable to the arthritis.
Heart Conditions
Rheumatoid arthritis patients are also more prone to heart conditions like the thickening of the artery walls (atherosclerosis) and heart attacks, medically known as myocardial infarctions. As it turns out, one of the most common symptoms of such myocardial infractions or heart attacks is frequent heart palpitations, and if a person happens to experience heart attack-related heart palpitations, then clearly the heart palpitations in this case are also ultimately attributable to the rheumatoid arthritis, even though they are not a direct result of it.
Medications
Some of the medications employed in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis also might cause heart palpitations. For instance, Enbrel, one of the major medications used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, has been known to cause what many of the people taking it term as heart palpitations, though there is some contention about this. Again, where a rheumatoid arthritis patient takes Enbrel and experiences heart palpitations, the palpitations can ultimately be blamed on the rheumatoid arthritis (which is what caused them to take the Enbrel in the first place), much as it--the Arthritis--didn't directly cause the palpitations.
Significance
The danger in the heart palpitations themselves is dependent on what is causing them. If the rheumatoid arthritis patient experiences them as a sign of anemia, then there is clearly need to worry and seek immediate medical intervention. If, on the other hand, the heart palpitations are as a result of medication one is taking to treat rheumatoid arthritis, there might be less need to worry, though it is always advisable to see a doctor if such palpitations are too frequent--whatever the reason behind them--because they could be a sign of an even more serious underlying problem.
Tags: heart palpitations, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, blood cells, cause heart