Cardiac Valve Involvement in Takayasu Arteritis Is Common: A Retrospective Study of 1,069 Patients Over 25 Years

Takayasu arteritis (TA) can involve the aortic root or cardiac valves, resulting in hemodynamic disorders. In this study, we focused on the prevalence and clinical characteristics of TA patients with valve regurgitation.

We retrospectively assessed the clinical data in the electronic medical records of 1,069 consecutive patients with TA admitted to Fuwai Hospital from January 1992 to August 2017. We evaluated the valvular structure and function mainly by cardiac ultrasound.

Among the 1,069 patients, 373 (34.9%) had valve regurgitation. The female to male ratio was 4.8:1. The average age at symptom onset was 28.1 ± 10.6 years. The median duration from symptom onset to first hospitalization was 65.9 months. Of patients with valve involvement, 47.4% and 40.1% had a high erythrocyte sediment rate and C-reactive protein level, respectively, at the time of echocardiography. Most patients (69.7%) had aortic regurgitation, and nearly half had moderate to severe aortic regurgitation. A total of 38.8% of patients had aortic valve damage, and 23.3% had involvement of the ascending aorta. Most other valve insufficiency was mild, including mitral regurgitation in 39.1% of patients, tricuspid regurgitation in 34.6%, and pulmonary regurgitation in 11.8%. Valve stenosis was rare. Misdiagnosis of other cardiac diseases occurred in 13 patients.

Cardiac valve insufficiency is common in Chinese TA patients. Patients should undergo echocardiography once TA is diagnosed. In young women of reproductive age, TA should be considered when aortic regurgitation is detected.