Right Ventricle and Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases can express pathologies in specific organs (e.g. thyroid, pancreas, skin) or generate systemic pathologies (generalized lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis), the latter usually present systemic inflammatory phenomena. Some studies have reported alterations in right ventricular contractility in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which may contribute to the known outcome of increased cardiovascular risk. However, there is not much information available on the causes that generate these alterations, the most likely being small vessel damage and fibrosis due to subclinical inflammation.1-5 In this sense, the disease in which the alterations of the right ventricle have been more studied is systemic sclerosis, specifically at the changes induced due to pulmonary arterial hypertension, this being one of the main causes of death in this group of patients after the significant decrease in mortality associated with the sclerodermic renal crisis with the treatment of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. In this review, we will focus on explaining the structural and functional changes that occur in the right ventricle of patients with systemic sclerosis, from early alterations to late complications. In this context, it is necessary to distinguish between right heart alterations that occur in patients with systemic sclerosis and pulmonary arterial hypertension and those that occur without pulmonary arterial hypertension and that can be attributed to other causes such as microvascular damage or myocardial fibrosis.

Anti-modified citrullinated vimentin antibody: a novel biomarker associated with cardiac systolic dysfunction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Background

Studies have demonstrated that seropositive patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are susceptible to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In this study, we aimed to determine the association of autoantibodies with the echocardiographic parameters of systolic and diastolic dysfunction in such patients.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated patients with RA who were referred to our clinic from October 2017 to August 2018. After the exclusion of patients with concomitant CVD, all patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography and measurement of plasma autoantibodies. Moreover, possible confounders—including medications, CVD risk factors, Framingham risk score, disease activity score-28, duration of disease, simple disease activity index, and functional status—were assessed.

Results

We studied 135 patients with RA (mean age = 52.3 years; 111 (82.2%) females). We had missing data rates of up to 8.9% for some characteristics. E velocity was inversely correlated with rheumatoid factor (P = 0.009). Furthermore, the plasma levels of anti-citrullinated protein and anti-modified citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV) antibodies were negatively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (P = 0.019 and P<0.001, respectively). After an adjustment for possible confounders, the linear regression model demonstrated that the anti-MCV level and the patient’s age are significant predictors of LVEF. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that anti-MCV antibody titer≥547.5 (IU/mL) signifies reduced LVEF (<50%) with a sensitivity of 85.7% and specificity of 93% (C-statistic = 0.843).

Conclusions

Our findings showed a significant inverse correlation between anti-MCV antibody titer and LVEF. These results indicate that the application of anti-MCV is promising for the screening and early detection of cardiac systolic dysfunction. Future prospective studies will determine its role.

Echocardiography in the Assessment of Patients with Rheumatologic Diseases

Cardiovascular disease is an important extra-articular manifestation of rheumatologic diseases leading to considerable mortality and morbidity. Echocardiography emerges as a useful non-invasive technique for the screening and evaluation of cardiac involvement in these patients. With the technological advancement in echocardiographic techniques, we have gained a greater appreciation of the prevalence and nature of the cardiac involvement in these patients, as detection of subclinical disease is increasingly feasible. This review discusses cardiac involvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome, systemic sclerosis and ankylosing spondylitis, and the role of different echocardiographic modalities in their evaluation.

Features of cardiac remodeling in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome Complicated with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Cardiovascular diseases are important factors to increased morbidity and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of RA on cardiac remodeling in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Sixty-one patients with ACS complicated with RA (RA group) and 55 age- and sex-matched patients with ACS without RA (control group) were enrolled. We compared the parameters of laboratory and echocardiogram across the 2 groups. Levels of serum brain natriuretic peptide in patients with RA were significantly higher than control group. Prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and LV diastolic dysfunction (E/A < 1) were significantly higher in the RA patients, while the LV ejection fraction (EF%) was significantly lower in RA patients. Incidence of tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary regurgitation were significantly higher in ACS patients with RA than in the ACS patients without RA. In RA group, levels of serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol were negatively correlated with C reactive protein (CRP), EF% was also negatively correlated with CRP. The prevalence of LVH and mitral regurgitation showed positive correlations with ESR. Early intervention for controlling the inflammation associated with RA can play a significant role in preventing cardiac remodeling in ACS patients.

Prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis

Background:

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a polyarticular disorder with many extra-articular features. Cardiovascular disorders, including heart failure (HF), are the leading causes of mortality in RA patients. We studied the prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) in patients with RA.

Materials and Methods:

In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 100 consecutive patients with RA (aged >18 years and duration >1 year) for the presence of LVD. We excluded patients with known cardiac and systemic disorders that may contribute to LVD. LVD is defined by the presence of either left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) or left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD), evaluated by the echocardiography. Descriptive statistics and relevant tests were used to analyze the results.

Results:

The study participants (n = 100; 80F and 20M) had a mean age of 45 ± 11.8 years, duration of disease 7.4 ± 5.4 years, and disease activity score of 3.5 ± 1.1. A total of 46 patients had symptoms of HF, but only 14% of them had signs of HF. LVD was seen in 59 (LVSD-4, LVDD-50, and both together in 5) patients, and none of the participants had severe grades of LVSD and LVDD. LVD showed no relation to the age of the patients (P = 0.186) and it was more with increasing duration of RA (P < 0.001) and higher disease activity (P = 0.042).

Conclusion:

LVD is more common in RA patients, which increases the associated morbidity and mortality. Higher threshold is required by the family practitioners to perform a screening echocardiography in long-standing RA patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis affects left ventricular mass: Systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease represents one of the most important extra-articular causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Evidences showed that several cardiac structures can be affected during the course of the disease as well as abnormalities of left ventricular diastolic filling. Contrasting data are available about left ventricular mass (LVM) involvement in patients asymptomatic for cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize the effects of RA on LVM in rheumatoid arthritis patients without cardiovascular disease.

METHODS

A systematic research of the current case-control studies was conducted in Medline on November 20th, 2013. Studies were included if data of measurements of LVM were reported. The pooled mean effect size estimate was calculated according to methods described by Hedges and Olkin.

RESULTS

Sixteen eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. RA determines an increase of absolute and indexed LVM compared with control patients [standardized mean difference (95% CI): 0.41(0.15-0.66) and 0.47(0.32-0.62), respectively]. On the contrary, posterior wall thickness did not show a significant RA effect. Finally, a significant positive effect of RA on interventricular wall thickness was found [standardized mean difference (95% CI): 0.39 (0.07-0.71)].

CONCLUSIONS

Results of this meta-analysis suggest that increased absolute and indexed LVM seem to be characteristic of RA patients with a fundamental clinical significance since they are related to an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Our data suggest the use of LVM as surrogate end-point for clinical trials involving RA patients.

Echocardiographic evaluation of diastolic dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis - a case-control study

OBJECTIVES

To assess left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) and its predictors in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS

This cross-sectional case-control study assessed 100 RA patients and 100 healthy controls for LVDD by M-mode, two-dimensional, colour Doppler echocardiography.

RESULTS

RA patients had higher prevalence of LVDD than controls (43% vs. 14%; p < 0.001). LVDD had significant association with duration (p = 0.033), severity of disease activity (p < 0.0001), Steinbrocker stage and functional class (p < 0.0001 each) and non-adherence to treatment (p = 0.047). Peak of late diastolic (A) mitral flow velocity and isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) were higher (p < 0.05 each), whereas left ventricular ejection fraction, peak of early diastolic (E) mitral flow velocity and E/A ratio were lower (p < 0.05 each) in RA patients than in controls. Deceleration time (DT) was not significantly different in the two groups (p = 0.623). E/A ratio had significant correlation with anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) (r = 0.233, p = 0.019) and age (r = 0.203, p = 0.042). IVRT had significant negative correlation with ACPA (r = -0.196, p = 0.044), while DT had significant correlation with Disease Activity Score with 28-joint (DAS28) counts (r = 0.244, p = 0.014). ACPA was an independent predictor of E/A ratio (p = 0.031). DAS28 was the only independent predictor of LVDD (odds ratio [OR] = 6.01; p = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS

LVDD occurred commonly in RA patients and depended on severity of disease activity.