Left Ventricular Systolic Myocardial Function in Ankylosing Spondylitis

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Rheumatology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Subclinical left ventricular (LV) myocardial dysfunction is a known cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor.
• The presence of subclinical LV dysfunction in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients, independent of traditional CVD risk factors, remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) exhibit subclinical left ventricular (LV) myocardial dysfunction.
• To determine if this dysfunction is independent of common cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

Main Methods:

• 106 patients with AS and 106 matched controls underwent conventional and speckle tracking echocardiography.
• Left ventricular (LV) systolic myocardial function was evaluated using peak systolic global longitudinal strain (GLS).

Main Results:

• Global longitudinal strain (GLS) was significantly lower in patients with AS compared to controls (-17.7 ± 2.5% vs. -18.4 ± 2.3%, P = 0.03).
• Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was independently associated with lower GLS, even after adjusting for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.
• In AS patients, lower GLS correlated with a larger aortic root diameter (β = 0.24, P = 0.02).

Conclusions:

• Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) demonstrate impaired left ventricular (LV) systolic function (lower GLS) compared to controls, independent of confounders.
• Lower GLS in AS patients is associated with aortic root dilation.
• Further research is needed to confirm if this subclinical dysfunction contributes to the elevated CVD risk observed in AS.