ECHO-DOPPLER LEFT-VENTRICULAR FILLING ABNORMALITIES IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS WITHOUT CLINICALLY EVIDENT CARDIOVASCULAR-DISEASE

Our investigation aimed at verifying diastolic abnormalities in rheuma toid patients, without clinically evident cardiovascular disease and o ther confounding complaints, by using pulsed Doppler examination of tr ansmitral blood flow. We selected 40 patients fulfilling revised Ameri can Rheumatism Association (ARA) criteria for the diagnosis of rheumat oid arthritis having no symptoms of cardiac disease or clinical findin gs of other extracardiac diseases. We also studied 40 rheumatoid-match ed healthy volunteers as a control group. An echocardiographic examina tion was carried out on each subject. Left ventricular structural and functional measurements were obtained. Interventricular septal thickne ss and left ventricular mass index were significantly higher in rheuma toid patients than in the control group. We also found in rheumatoid p atients higher mean values of peak A velocity and A/E ratio. When mult iple linear regression analysis was performed on the data of rheumatoi d patients we found an independent relationship only between A/E ratio and left ventricular mass. In conclusion, our results confirm diastol ic abnormalities in rheumatoid patients and point out that these abnor malities also affect echo-Doppler parameters of left ventricular filli ng. Moreover, further analysis of our data may suggest the possibility that structural left ventricle changes could be responsible for left ventricular filling impairment.