To the Editor: A recent study in Heart by Edwards and colleagues found an interesting association between rheumatoid factor (RF) and ischaemic heart disease.1 In a forthcoming study we examined independently the related subject of the role of systemic inflammation in relation to clinical outcome.2 This subsequent study reports an association between systemic inflammation, as measured by C reactive protein (CRP), and all-cause mortality (n = 22 982). We also found a weak association with heart disease, but the study was, we …