Cardiac involvement in Crohn's disease: echocardiographic study

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Cardiology
• Immunology

Background:

• Crohn's Disease (CD) often presents with extra-intestinal manifestations, though cardiac involvement is typically considered rare.
• This study investigates the prevalence and characteristics of cardiac involvement in CD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess cardiac involvement in Crohn's Disease patients.
• To explore correlations between cardiac findings and disease activity, duration, localization, and therapy.

Main Methods:

• Transthoracic echocardiogram with Doppler study was performed on 68 CD patients and 60 healthy controls.
• Cardiac morphology, valve function, and ejection fraction were evaluated.

Main Results:

• Significantly higher rates of morphologic alterations (69.11% vs 20.0%), mitral valve prolapse (29.4% vs 6.6%), and pericardial effusion (19.1% vs 1.6%) were observed in CD patients compared to controls.
• Pericardial effusion and decreased left ventricle ejection fraction were correlated with CD activity.
• No correlation was found between cardiac findings and age, sex, disease duration, therapy, or localization.

Conclusions:

• Crohn's Disease frequently leads to cardiac involvement, often remaining subclinical.
• Alterations in the cytokine network, such as elevated tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and increased oxidative stress may contribute to cardiac manifestations in CD.