title: Atrial ejection force in systemic autoimmune diseases.
abstract: Systemic autoimmune disorders may affect several organs, including the heart. We analyzed two-dimensional and pulsed Doppler echocardiograms of patients (n = 37) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, n = 24) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 13) to determine whether atrial ejection force (AEF) could represent a suitable parameter for detecting left ventricular filling abnormalities in SLE and RA. In both patient subgroups, AEF was significantly higher than in healthy controls (n = 40) matched for gender and age (14.0 +/- 5.4 vs. 11.0 +/- 3.5 kdyn, p < 0.01). Because conventional echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular function failed to detect such a difference, AEF might serve as an additional sensitive parameter for detecting left ventricular diastolic filling abnormalities early in the course of a systemic autoimmune disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medizinische Poliklinik, University of Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jahns
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Naito
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Tony
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Inselmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*