Structural and functional indicators of the cardiovascular system of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Purpose of the study. To study the clinical and instrumental data, including the assessment of the systolic and diastolic function of the heart, intraventricular hemodynamics, structural parameters of the heart in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Materials and methods. 102 patients with RA were examined on the basis of the classification criteria proposed by ARA 2001. The control group consisted of 20 healthy middle-aged individuals. All patients, in addition to standard laboratory and instrumental studies, underwent echocardiographic examination (Echo-KG) using a MEDISON 8000 LIGHT ultrasound machine (South Korea) with a 2.4 MHz cardiac transducer, in accordance with the recommendations of the American Association of Echocardiography according to the standard method. Results. In RA patients, cardiovascular risk was associated with disease duration over 5 years, disease activity (DAS 28), and systemic lesion. In RA patients, the morphological and functional indices of the left chambers of the heart and diastolic functions of the left ventricle were comparatively more often disturbed, which indicate the maladaptive nature of the remodeling of the left heart.