In recent years there has been increasing interest in the influence of inflammatory rheumatic diseases on the cardiovascular system.1 There is growing evidence that inflammation plays a major part in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis.2

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) affects primarily the elderly and exhibits evidence of a systemic inflammatory response.3 Because PMR is known to respond well clinically to corticosteroids, we wanted to examine whether this treatment might also have an effect on arterial stiffness in these patients. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the influence of therapy with steroids on the augmentation index (AIx), a marker of arterial stiffness, as measured with …