echocardiography rheumatoid arthritis

Epicardial adipose tissue is a novel cardiometabolic risk factor and indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis. We aimed to evaluate the epicardial adipose tissue thickness in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and its association with disease activity scores. A total of 81 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 70 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Epicardial adipose tissue thickness (EATT) was measured by transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiography. Tender and swollen joint counts were recorded at the time of inclusion...

INTRODUCTION: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) occasionally involves the inferior vena cava (IVC), but intra-atrial extension is very rare, with the most dreaded complication being thrombi migration into pulmonary arteries. CASE PRESENTATION: A 52-year-old male with rheumatoid arthritis and a smoking history presented with dyspnea, weight loss, and a previous episode of hematuria. Echocardiography revealed an intra-atrial thrombus with signs of pulmonary embolism (PE)...

BACKGROUND: The evaluation of microvascular alterations might provide clinically useful information for patients with an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk, such as those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), being the small artery remodeling the earliest form of target organ damage in primary CV diseases, such as arterial hypertension. The evaluation of retinal arterioles is a non-invasive technique aimed to identify an early microvascular damage, represented by the increase of the wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR) index...

INTRODUCTION: Pericardial effusion is common in the setting of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, it is rarely its first manifestation. CASE DESCRIPTION: An 82-year-old male presented with abdominal pain, vomiting and fever. Blood analysis revealed elevated systemic inflammatory markers, and an abdominal computed tomography scan revealed non-specific alveolar condensation of the right pulmonary base and pericardial effusion subsequently quantified as medium size by transthoracic echocardiography...

BACKGROUND: Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is characterized by high titres of distinct antibodies: U1 ribonucleoprotein with variable clinical features seen in rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, polymyositis, and dermatomyositis. Limited case reports revealed the association between MCTD and cancer, like lymphoma, lung cancers, and others. CASE PRESENTATION: A 22-year-old female presented with enlargement of the abdomen and oedema of the lower extremities, gradually started 25 days The patient had been diagnosed to have rheumatoid arthritis...

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine if the presence of a pericardial effusion is associated with adverse outcomes among children admitted with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The multicenter, retrospective cohort study was conducted with 4,332 patients (1,554 males, 2,778 females; median age: 12 years; IQR, 7, 15 years) using the Pediatric Health Information System. Data from hospital admissions between January 1, 2004, and September 15, 2015, were obtained for patients with an International Disease Classification, Ninth Revision code for juvenile idiopathic arthritis...

BACKGROUND: The frequency of cardiovascular system involvement is increased in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and may result in serious morbidity and mortality. Early intervention and control of the disease activity may reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of steroids and methotrexate (Mtx) on the heart functions of newly diagnosed RA patients. METHODS: Our study is a prospective cohort study involving thirty-six newly diagnosed RA patients according to the American Society of Rheumatology classification criteria...

To discuss what is currently known about myocarditis in the context of major connective tissue diseases, including Systemic lupus erythematosus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjogren, Dermato-myositis and Polymyositis, Systemic Sclerosis, and Mixed connective tissue disease. Variability exists between studies regarding the incidence of myocarditis in connective tissue diseases, which is hypothesized to be the result of its subclinical course in most cases. Extensive gaps of knowledge exist in the field of pathophysiology...

SUBJECT: Rheumatoid arthritis patients are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease such as right heart failure and pulmonary hypertension (PH). Arterial stiffness can be used to assess pulmonary hemodynamics. Noninvasive approaches can also be used to assess pulmonary hemodynamics. Recently, there have been reports that pulmonary pulse transit time (PPTT) may also be a useful measure. This study aims to examine the effects of pulmonary hemodynamic alterations on PPTT in RA patients...

OBJECTIVE: In this study, the usefulness of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in systematic screening was assessed for various cardiac abnormalities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We performed a comparative cross-sectional study from July 2020 to February 2021. Each patient underwent a TTE coupled with the strain technique. RESULTS: Seventy-two RA patients and 72 controls were included. Abnormalities detected by TTE were more frequent in RA patients (80...

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a much higher incidence of cardiac dysfunction, which contributes to the high mortality rate of RA despite anti-arthritic drug therapy. In this study, we investigated dynamic changes in cardiac function in classic animal models of RA and examined the potential effectors of RA-induced heart failure (HF). Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) models were established in rats and mice. The cardiac function of CIA animals was dynamically monitored using echocardiography and haemodynamics...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to investigate the role of tissue Doppler and Myocardial Performance Index (MPI) in evaluating cardiac involvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with no cardiac symptoms, to determine whether these measurements differ between healthy controls and RA patients, and whether they can be used to determine the risk of cardiovascular disease and predict prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 50 RA patients fulfilling the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) RA criteria and 50 healthy volunteering controls were included in the study...

OBJECTIVE: Heart failure is the most frequent cause of death among patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis(RA), in which high prevalence is independent of traditional risk factors. An early diagnosis of subclinical heart failure may be made by assessing left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) by Doppler Echocardiography. Our study aims to early identify LVDD in RA patients. METHODS: We enrolled 207 consecutive postmenopausal women (PMW) with normal electrocardiography and physical examination with a confirmed diagnosis of RA, for over one year, 200 PMW free from RA served as the control group (CG)...

PURPOSE: Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) are groups of diseases that are commonly associated with cardiac and pulmonary manifestations and may affect the morbidity and mortality of the patients. The study aimed to the assessment of cardiopulmonary manifestations and their correlation with the semi-quantitative scoring of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in ARD patients. METHODS AND PATIENTS: 30 patients with ARD were included in the study (mean age 42...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease with increased cardiovascular disease risk. Liquiritigenin (LG) is a triterpene with anti-inflammatory properties. Our study aimed to explore the effect of LG on RA and the cardiac complication. Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice with LG treatment exhibited obvious alleviation in histopathological changes, accompanied by the decreased expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-17A in synovium and serum...

BACKGROUND: Elevated serum visfatin levels have been reported in some chronic inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and rheumatoid arthritis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the correlation between visfatin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and anthropometric, angiographic, echocardiographic, and biochemical parameters in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: In this case-control study, 90 patients who were candidates for angiography were divided into the following 3 groups: non-coronary artery disease group (non-CAD; n = 30) with a history of chest pain without angiographic changes, stable angina pectoris group (SAP; n = 30), and AMI group (n = 30)...

Pacemaker-induced cardiomyopathy (PICM) is a rare but well-recognised phenomenon in patients requiring right ventricular (RV) pacing. It can be caused by single-chamber or dual-chamber pacemakers. We present a case of a 64-year-old female patient presenting to the pacemaker clinic with worsening shortness of breath and legs swelling. She was found to have atrial fibrillation and underwent atrioventricular node ablation followed by a dual chamber permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation as part of a 'pace and ablate' strategy to treat refractory symptomatic atrial tachycardia, and the patient was entirely dependent on RV pacing...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition in which the body's joints are attacked by the immune system, leaving the patient disabled in severe cases, with irreversible joint damage and a lower quality of life. RA patients are more likely to develop cardiovascular (CV) disease, which increases their risk of morbidity and mortality. This study systematically reviews various CV diseases that might occur with RA including heart failure (HF), coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndrome, ischemic heart disease, stroke, cardiac death, venous thromboembolism, and valvular diseases...

BACKGROUND Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can cause extra-articular manifestations, and the myocardium can be a target. This study aimed to describe structural and functional cardiac echocardiographic variables in RA patients and to evaluate whether vitamin D (VD) levels and inflammation markers, evaluated by Disease Activity Score-28 for Rheumatoid Arthritis with C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP), are associated with cardiac remodeling (CR) in this population. MATERIAL AND METHODS This prospective observational study evaluated 90 patients with RA in Botucatu University Hospital wards from 2014 to 2017...

BACKGROUND: Cardiac biomarkers have been shown to be related to cardiac abnormalities; nonetheless, few studies have confirmed the association between cardiac and rheumatoid biomarkers in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. This study assessed the correlation of rheumatoid and cardiac biomarker levels with cardiac anatomy and function and explored the interaction between cardiac and rheumatoid biomarkers in RA patients without clinically overt cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among RA patients aged 18-65 years without other connective tissue diseases, overlap syndrome, heart disease, or renal failure were included...