Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026
An Adoptive Transfer Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Mice
Published on: June 6, 2025
Prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis
A S Renjith1, Vishal Marwaha2, N Aggarwal3
1Department of Medicine, Military Hospital, Srinagar, India.
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.
More Related Videos
09:31Generation of Induced-pluripotent Stem Cells Using Fibroblast-like Synoviocytes Isolated from Joints of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
Published on: October 16, 2016
06:31Author Spotlight: Enhancing Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Through HR-pQCT Imaging Analysis
Published on: October 6, 2023
Related Concept Videos
01:08Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...
01:24Cardiac Catheterization III: Left Heart Catheterization
01:25ECG Interpretation of Arrhythmias II: Atrial, Junctional and Ventricular Arrhythmias
02:59The Nernst Equation
The interconnection between standard cell potentials and various thermodynamic parameters such as the standard free energy change ΔG° and equilibrium constant K has been previously explored. For example, a redox reaction involving zinc(II) and tin(II) ions at 1 M concentration with Eºcell = +0.291 V and ΔG° = −56.2 kJ is spontaneous.
01:27Anatomy of the Heart
01:26What is an Electrochemical Gradient?
The chemical gradient relies on differences in the abundance of a substance on the outside versus the inside of a cell and flows from areas of high to low ion concentration. In contrast, the electrical gradient revolves around an...