[Routine and new risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (Bechterev's disease)].
OBJECTIVE
Analysis of standard and new risk factors (RF) to develop cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).


METHODS
Examination of 96 patients with a documented diagnosis of AS has detected symptoms of CVD (arterial hypertension--AH, ischemic heart disease -IHD) and conventional CVD RF (smoking, hyper- and dyslipidemia, overweight, hereditary predisposition, diabetes mellitus). The SCORE scale assessed the risk of CVD complications within 10 years of ischemic heart disease. The following RF were also studied: the levels of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, platelets, von Willebrand factor activity, total fibrinolytic plasma activity, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) according to echocardiography, intima-media complex thickness of the common carotid artery by USI.


RESULTS
Prevalence of AH in the examinees (34.4%), IHD (4.2%) was within population values. Total risk for IHD calculated with consideration of conventional RF in AS patients (6.3 +/- 5.0%) did not differ much from mean populational (6.8 +/- 4.4%) while in the absence of hypertension it was lower (4.1 +/- 2.5 and 5.4 +/- 3.5%, respectively, p < 0.05). The risk for lethal CVD complications proved not high (1.46 +/- 1.34%). However, AS patients have high risk for thrombosis due to elevated levels of prothrombogenic factors (fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor, platelets) and subnormal fibrinolytic blood activity. AS patients also demonstrate frequent LVH (overall 51% and 42.9% in normotensive AS patients).


CONCLUSIONS
Higher risk of CVD death in AS patients than in general population may be caused by additional RF missed at conventional stratification.
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology