[Degenerative valvular and left ventricle structural changes in echocardiography in patients with rheumatoid arthritis].
The disproportion between absence of clinical manifestations of circulatory system involvement and serious lesions in the heart found on post mortem examinations, more frequently diagnosed congestive circulatory failure and also higher mortality rate of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), encouraged the authors to study the subject.


OBJECTIVE
Echocardiographic assessment of the effect of rheumatoid process on the heart in patients with RA without clinically overt features of heart disease.


METHODS
The study was conducted in 50 patients with RA diagnosed on the basis of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria and in 50 persons matched with the patients with respect to age, gender, body area and body mass index, heart rate and arterial pressure. Persons with manifestations and/or history of cardiovascular diseases were excluded from the study.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors found that: in rheumatoid arthritis, the involvement of the heart by the pathological process is manifested as degenerative changes of valve leaflets, and these lesions correlate with interventricular septum thickness and the mass and mass index of the left ventricle.
Kamiński
Grzegorz
G
Wojskowy Instytut Medyczny, Klinika Endokrynologii i Terapii Izotopowej CSK MON w Warszawie. gkam@wim.mil.pl
Makowski
Karol
K
Dziuk
Mirosław
M
Michałkiewicz
Dariusz
D
Olszewski
Robert
R
Kowalczyk
Andrzej
A
Cholewa
Marian
M
D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*