BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects approximately 1% of the population. Initial symptoms include joint swelling, stiffness, and tenderness, which are all causes of disability. The diagnosis of RA is based on patient history of joint pain and stiffness, the documentation of symmetric polyarticular joint synovitis, and laboratory measures including radiographs, inflammatory markers, and autoantibodies. As the disease progresses, synovial inflammation leads to cartilage damage, bone erosions, and joint destruction, the major causes of long-term disability. RA is associated with many comorbidities and complications, including cardiovascular disease, which is responsible for higher rates of mortality among patients compared with the general population. Over the past 2 decades, advances in the development of synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biologic agents for RA have markedly changed treatment goals and management...