Osteoarthritis is "heart disease" of our joints

At first glance, the title of this blog may seem like a preposterous notion; however, it is a fact. Years ago, osteoarthritis (OA) was misperceived to be a wear-and-tear condition of joints, a myth that is still perpetuated today…however, we now know that OA is actually a chronic inflammatory state within joint tissues. Years ago, we also misperceived that heart disease was simply a buildup of cholesterol and other substances on top of the wall of an artery…now we know that heart disease is actually a chronic inflammatory state in the within the artery wall.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition of our joints that is chemically identical, on practical level, to heart disease. This has been known for a long time. For all practical purposes, the chemistry of osteoarthritis and atherosclerotic heart disease is identical. The view we should take is as follows: osteoarthritis is “heart disease” of the joints and heart disease is “osteoarthritis” of arteries. The difficulty that most have when considering this fact is that, to the naked eye, joints and arteries are very different structures.

Read the full blog here: Osteoarthritis should be viewed as "heart disease" of the joints