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Echocardiographic findings in patients with Behçet's disease
Abdi Bozkurt1, Onur Akpinar, Soner Uzun
1Department of Cardiology, Cukurova University, School of Medicine, Adana, Turkey. abozkurt@cu.edu.tr
Insights
Behçet
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Rheumatology
- Diagnostic Imaging
Background:
- Behçet's disease is associated with increased left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction.
- Limited data exist on Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) for evaluating cardiac involvement in Behçet's disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess cardiac involvement and LV function at rest and during isometric exercise in Behçet's disease patients.
- To compare pulse-wave Doppler and DTI findings between patients and controls.
Main Methods:
- Case-controlled study involving 54 Behçet's disease patients and 50 controls.
- Utilized pulse-wave Doppler and DTI to evaluate LV systolic and diastolic function.
- Assessed cardiac parameters at rest and immediately after isometric exercise.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in cardiac chamber dimensions, valvular abnormalities, or LV systolic function between groups.
- Pulse-wave Doppler showed a lower mean E/A ratio in Behçet's patients (p=0.01), indicating potential diastolic dysfunction.
- DTI revealed no significant differences in diastolic parameters (e/a ratio) between patients and controls at rest or post-exercise.
Conclusions:
- LV systolic and diastolic functions are comparable between Behçet's disease patients and controls at rest and after exercise.
- While pulse-wave Doppler suggests potential diastolic changes, DTI does not confirm significant differences in LV diastolic function in this cohort.
Abstract:
Case-controlled studies have shown that the prevalence of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction is higher in patients with Behçet's disease. However, there are no data evaluating the value of Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) in Behçet's disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiac involvement and the LV function at rest and at the end of isometric exercise by pulse-wave Doppler and DTI methods in patients with Behçet's disease. Fifty-four patients with Behcet's disease and 50 control subjects were studied. Dimensions of cardiac chambers, aortic root dimension, valvular abnormalities, and systolic function were similar in both groups. The mean E/A ratio was significantly lower in patients than controls (1.22 +/- .09 vs 1.36 +/- 0.30, p = 0.01). The E/A ratio was <1 in 12 patients (22%) and in 3 controls (6%) (p = 0.02). By DTI, no difference was found in the mean S-, e-, and a-wave velocities, and e/a ratio between the 2 groups. The e/a ratio was <1 in 13 patients (24.1%) and in 7 controls (14%) (p = 0.2) by DTI. There were no differences in the mitral pulse-wave Doppler and DTI parameters in patient and control groups at the end of exercise. The prevalence of cardiac pathology in Behçet's disease did not differ appreciably from the controls. In conclusion, the LV systolic and diastolic functions in the patients with Behçet's disease and controls were similar not only at rest but also at the end of exercise.
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