Chronic inflammatory muscle diseases and risk of coronary artery disease.

Despite recent advancements in the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD), it remains the commonest cause of death in the world. Although traditional risk factors partially account for the development of CAD, other novel risk factors have recently been implicated. Specifically, chronic inflammation has been postulated to play a role in the development and propagation of this disease. The purpose of this review is to examine the available evidence to determine if patients with chronic inflammatory muscle diseases have higher rates of cardiovascular disease.