Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease, which means that your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation (painful swelling) in the affected parts of the body. RA mainly attacks the joints, usually many joints at once. An autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body’s tissues.
This condition can affect more than just your joints. In some people, it can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, and blood vessels. Rheumatoid arthritis causes joint inflammation and pain. It happens when the immune system doesn’t work properly and attacks the lining of the joints, called the synovium. The disease commonly affects the hands, knees, or ankles, and usually the same joint on both sides of the body, such as both hands or both knees.
RA is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, with the first symptoms most commonly being joint stiffness and swelling of the hands, feet, knees, or wrists. Women are three times more likely to develop RA, and it can start as early as 30 years old across all demographics.
People with rheumatoid arthritis often have an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, also known as sed rate) or C-reactive protein (CRP) level, which may indicate the presence of an inflammatory process in the body. Other common blood tests look for rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies.
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Arthritis Foundation
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Mayo Clinic Diagnosis and Treatment
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Mayo Clinic Arthritis
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The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. RA can damage your lungs or inflame the lining around them. This causes chest pain that worsens with breathing, called pleurisy. Lung problems are the most common symptoms of RA outside the joints.
