title: Assessment of aortic stiffness among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis by magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: To evaluate aortic stiffness by MRI in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in comparison to controls. We measured aortic strain, distensibility and pulse wave velocity (PWV) by MRI in 30 SLE patients, 31 RA patients and 53 matched controls. Mean PWV in SLE and RA patients were higher in comparison to controls (9.2 ± 4.4 vs. 7.6 ± 3.0 m/s, p = 0.04) and (6.2 ± 2.3 vs. 5.4 ± 1.7, p = 0.04) respectively. Aortic distensibility among RA patients was significantly lower in comparison to controls (4.4 ± 4.6 vs. 5.8 ± 4.9 kPa(-1) × 10(-3), p = 0.04). A significant correlation was found between PWV and age (r = 0.67, p < 0.001), Framingham risk score (r = 0.61, p < 0.001), waist to hip ratio (r = 0.45, p < 0.001), systolic blood pressure (r = 0.37, p = 0.01), diabetes (r = 0.32, p = 0.001) and dyslipidemia (r = 0.32, p = 0.001). In multivariate analysis for the prediction of PWV, variables which were found significant included: RA (p = 0.01), age (p < 0.001) and hypertension (p = 0.01) for patients with RA and SLE (p = 0.02), waist to hip ratio (p < 0.001) and total cholesterol (p < 0.001) for patients with SLE. Arterial stiffness, characterized by metrics of aortic distensibility and pulse wave velocity derived from MRI, is increased in SLE and RA female patients.
authors: Department of Medicine, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Galia
authors: G
authors: Karp
authors: Department of Cardiology, Cardiac Imaging Unit, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Arik
authors: A
authors: Wolak
authors: Clinical Research Center, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Yael
authors: Y
authors: Baumfeld
authors: Radiology Division, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Nina
authors: N
authors: Bar-Am
authors: Clinical Research Center, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Victor
authors: V
authors: Novack
authors: Department of Medicine, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Talya
authors: T
authors: Wolak
authors: Department of Medicine, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Lior
authors: L
authors: Fuchs
authors: Department of Cardiology, Cardiac Imaging Unit, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Aryeh
authors: A
authors: Shalev
authors: Radiology Division, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors: Ilan
authors: I
authors: Shelef
authors: Department of Medicine, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Mahmoud@bgu.ac.il.|Rheumatic Disease Unit, Soroka Medical Center, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Mahmoud@bgu.ac.il.
authors: Mahmoud
authors: M
authors: Abu-Shakra
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D059289:Vascular Stiffness
keywords: Aortic distensibility; Magnetic resonance imaging; Pulse wave velocity; Rheumatoid arthritis; Systemic lupus erythematosus