Inflammation and the heart: A new approach to cardiovascular disease prevention
October 1, 2026
Inflammation is part of your body’s natural healing process after infection or injury. But when inflammation persists for months or years, it can begin damaging healthy tissues instead of protecting them.
Chronic inflammation has long been associated with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis. Research increasingly shows that it can also affect the blood vessels and the heart, increasing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, or other cardiovascular complications.
Recognizing these connections between chronic inflammation and heart disease, UT Southwestern has launched its first Cardio-Rheumatology and Cardio-Dermatology Program. This program focuses on the connections among inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular health.
Having an autoimmune disease doesn’t automatically mean you’ll develop heart disease. But it may mean you and your care team should be more intentional about cardiovascular prevention and screening.
By bringing together specialists in cardiology, rheumatology, dermatology, imaging, and primary care, we can identify inflammation-associated cardiovascular risks sooner and help patients act before serious heart disease occurs.
How can inflammation affect the heart?
Inflammation doesn’t replace traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, obesity, or family history. Rather, it’s one more layer of risk that deserves attention.
Inflammatory proteins can influence plaque growth, blood clotting, and how stiff our vessels are. Chronic inflammation can irritate the inner lining of blood vessels, making it easier for cholesterol and immune cells to accumulate and form plaque. Over time, that process contributes to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Inflammation can also affect different parts of the cardiovascular system and may be associated with conditions or symptoms such as:
- Pericarditis, which is inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart.
- Myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle.
- Coronary microvascular disease, which involves the heart’s smallest blood vessels.
- Vascular inflammation, which affects arteries throughout the body.
- Symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, palpitations, or reduced exercise tolerance.
Who should see a cardio-rheumatology or cardio-dermatology specialist?
Our clinics are designed for people at the intersection of cardiovascular risk and inflammatory disease or symptoms, even when the source of inflammation is unclear.
Inflammatory conditions can cause vague symptoms such as chest discomfort, shortness of breath, or unusual fatigue. Standard heart disease risk calculators are useful for estimating risk based on traditional factors. But they may not fully capture the effects of chronic inflammation, disease activity, or some treatments on the heart and blood vessels.
Getting a consultation with us may be helpful if you have unexplained cardiovascular symptoms and a condition associated with autoimmune or chronic inflammation, such as:
Depending on your health history and symptoms, we may use advanced cardiovascular imaging to understand what’s happening to your heart and blood vessels. For example, noninvasive coronary artery calcium scoring can help measure the amount of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries and refine cardiovascular risk. Other imaging technologies include coronary CT, cardiac MRI, and PET imaging to help us create a more personalized prevention strategy.
How do we treat inflammation-related cardiovascular risk?
Heart-healthy habits and treatment of traditional risk factors remain the foundation of prevention. That includes managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes; avoiding tobacco; exercising regularly; getting enough sleep; and maintaining a healthy weight.
In some patients, inflammation is a treatable contributor to cardiovascular risk. But not every anti-inflammatory therapy prevents heart attacks or strokes, and standard prevention remains essential. Advances in cardiology, rheumatology, and dermatology are helping us develop more precise strategies for people with autoimmune or inflammatory diseases.
Medications can be highly effective for many patients, but some have side effects that may outweigh the benefits in certain cases. Treatment decisions require collaboration between patients and our specialist team to balance the personal benefits and risks.
Heart disease: Targeting inflammation as a risk factor
Low-dose colchicine, an anti-inflammatory medication frequently used for acute gout flare-ups, can reduce the risk of future cardiovascular events in selected patients with established atherosclerotic disease or multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Colchicine is also a first-line treatment for pericarditis. It is not appropriate for everyone, including some people with severe kidney or liver disease or people taking medications that interact with colchicine.
For recurrent pericarditis, therapies that block inflammatory pathways such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) can help reduce flare-ups and reduce the use of steroid medications long term. Researchers are also studying therapies that target interleukin-6 (IL-6), another important inflammatory pathway linked to heart failure and cardiovascular disease.
Rheumatologic diseases: More precise control of autoimmune inflammation
Rheumatology has led the way in immune-targeted therapies for decades. Today, patients with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and vasculitis have access to treatments that target specific immune pathways rather than broadly suppressing the immune system.
Examples include biologic therapies that block tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-6, B cells, or other components of the immune response. Early studies are also exploring CAR T-cell therapy for severe autoimmune diseases. This approach remains investigational but illustrates the shift toward increasingly personalized treatment.
Dermatologic diseases: Looking beyond the skin
Psoriasis is more than a skin condition. We now know it is a systemic inflammatory disease. Moderate to severe psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Several highly effective biologic therapies are available for psoriasis, including medications that target inflammatory pathways such as IL-17 and IL-23. These treatments can significantly improve skin symptoms and quality of life for many patients. Whether these medicines directly prevent heart attacks or strokes is still being studied.
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The future of cardiovascular inflammation care
One of the most exciting aspects of this field is that we’re still learning. My goal, and that of my colleagues, is to move the field forward so we can better identify patients who are at risk before heart disease develops and understand which treatments provide the greatest benefit.
Challenge: Measuring inflammation
While we can measure inflammation in the body, it’s often difficult to determine whether it is specifically affecting the heart and blood vessels. For example, blood tests such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) can show that inflammation is present somewhere in the body, but they cannot identify the source or prove that it is coming from the heart or blood vessels. Elevated levels may reflect arthritis, psoriasis, an infection, or another inflammatory condition.
Researchers are studying whether advanced imaging can help distinguish general inflammation from inflammation affecting plaque or blood vessels and whether that information improves treatment decisions.
Challenge: Risk prediction
Most cardiovascular risk calculators were developed using data from the general population and don’t fully account for the inflammatory burden, disease activity, medication exposures, or other factors that influence risk in patients with autoimmune diseases
As a result, a patient may appear to be at low risk on paper even when disease activity, inflammation, or medication exposure adds risk that the calculator does not capture. The future is likely to involve more personalized risk assessment that combines traditional risk factors with disease-specific information and, when appropriate, biomarkers and advanced imaging.
Rather than relying on a risk calculator alone, we can use the broader clinical picture to identify which patients with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and other inflammatory conditions may benefit from earlier evaluation or prevention.
Patients with autoimmune or inflammatory diseases should not have to wait until they have heart complications to learn about their cardiovascular risk. Our ultimate goal is to provide people with precise prevention strategies – matching the right patient with the right tests and therapy at the right time.
To talk with an expert about inflammation and heart health, make an appointment by calling 214-645-8000 or request an appointment online.
