Cardiovascular Risk Assessment for Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Arthritis:

One of the greatest success stories in rheumatology - the achievement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remission - is tempered by the fact that individuals with RA are dramatically under evaluated and under treated to reduce the risk for heart attacks and strokes. This project will build the foundation for an intervention that will test the hypothesis that the patient-centered intervention tailored to patients with RA to improve hyperlipidemia screening and treatment, thereby decreasing the risk for heart attacks and strokes. The aims of this proposal are: Aim 1: To identify patient and physician barriers to lower the risk for heart attacks and strokes in patients with RA. Aim 2: To develop an intervention designed to optimize lipid screening and management in RA patients. This will consist of patient education and a decision support program to facilitate screening for hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol level) or initiation of medications to lower cholesterol (primary outcome) and self-efficacy (level of confidence in performing a task) in taking medications to lower cholesterol secondary outcome). Aim 3: To pilot test the efficacy and feasibility of intervention developed in Aim 2. The investigators will apply methods related to clinical trials to test the feasibility of the newly developed intervention.