How common is rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis has a great impact on human health, especially in winter, the pain of rheumatoid arthritis patients will be significantly aggravated, making many patients suffer. Moreover, this type of disease is not easy to treat. Many patients do not know how to treat it after they develop rheumatoid arthritis. The number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is also very large. Let’s take a look at the number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

1. Harm to the lungs: Clinically, only a few cases involve large amounts of pleural effusion. Rheumatoid nodules grow in the lungs. The diameters of the nodules vary and they are mostly located around the lungs. They can become cavitary or rupture, causing pleural effusion or bronchopleural rash. Pay attention to distinguish it from tumor.

2. Harm to the heart: Although clinical symptoms of rheumatic heart disease are rare, autopsy and electrocardiogram examinations show that up to 50% of patients have it. Nodular granulomas and diffuse fibrotic lesions can also be seen in the myocardium. Echocardiography shows that 30% of patients have varying degrees of valvular involvement. Rheumatoid coronary artery inflammation may occur, and care should be taken to differentiate it from coronary heart disease.

3. Harm to kidneys: Rheumatoid arthritis rarely affects the kidneys. However, renal vasculitis and mild membranous nephropathy have been reported. Patients with kidney disease should first exclude secondary amyloidosis and the cause of nephropathy.

4. Harm to nerves: Nerve compression is a common cause of neurological symptoms, which often occurs when severe local synovitis presses on a nearby fixed structure. The median, ulnar, posterior tibial, and posterior interosseous branches of the radial nerves are often affected.

From the above, we can see that the harm of rheumatoid arthritis is very great. In order to prevent it from affecting normal work and life, we need to follow the principle of early detection and early treatment.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis must keep warm in winter and avoid catching cold. Rheumatoid arthritis is not easy to diagnose and can be easily confused with other diseases. Therefore, if you want to confirm whether it is rheumatoid arthritis, you still need to go to the hospital for treatment, which will be safer.