Related Experiment Videos
[Cardiac involvement in ankylosing spondylitis]
Insights
Ankylosing spondylitis can cause cardiac issues, including aortic insufficiency and conduction blocks, in 17.4% of patients. Early cardiac screening is crucial for individuals with this rheumatic disease or unexplained heart conditions.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Cardiology
Context:
- Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a rheumatic disease primarily affecting the axial skeleton, with cardiac involvement noted in up to 48% of cases.
- Existing research on AS cardiac manifestations is largely from Northern countries, potentially limiting applicability to other populations.
- Racial variations in AS features suggest a need for localized studies.
Purpose:
- To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of cardiac involvement in patients with ankylosing spondylitis in a specific population.
- To assess the utility of clinical examination, electrocardiography, Holter monitoring, and echocardiography in detecting cardiac issues in AS patients.
Summary:
- A study of 23 ankylosing spondylitis patients (mean age 36, 21 men) revealed cardiac involvement in 17.4% unrelated to other causes.
- Clinical findings included two cases of isolated aortic insufficiency and one right bundle branch block.
- Echocardiography identified aortic valvular lesions in two patients, including one with initially normal non-invasive tests.
Impact:
- Highlights the importance of cardiac evaluation in ankylosing spondylitis patients, particularly for aortic insufficiency and conduction disturbances of unknown origin.
- Suggests that cardiac screening should be a routine part of managing ankylosing spondylitis.
- Emphasizes the need to consider AS in patients presenting with unexplained cardiac conduction abnormalities or aortic valve disease.
Abstract:
Ankylosing spondylitis is a rheumatic disease that affects the axial skeleton and has predilection for young men. Of its extraarticular manifestations, the cardiac involvement, reported up to 48%, has been pointed out in recent years. It seems to exist a racial variation in the features of the spondylitis and since most of the studies have been performed in northern countries therefore it appears inadequate to extrapolate the conclusions of such studies to our society. We studied 23 patients with definitive diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis. All of them had a complete physical examination, electrocardiography and X-ray of the chest; eight patients underwent a Holter study of 24 hours and seven patients were examined by echocardiography. The mean age of the group was 36 years; there were 21 men and two women. The mean duration of the rheumatic disease was 11.5 years. In only 4 (17.4%) of the patients we found cardiac involvement that would not be related to another etiology. By the clinic examination we found two patients with isolated aortic insufficiency; one case had a right bundle branch block. The Holter study did not show modifications, except in the one with isolated aortic insufficiency and right bundle branch block, in whom this block became of variable degree. The echocardiographic study showed the mentioned aortic valvular lesions and did reveal the same lesion in another patient in which the other studies were normal. It is emphasized that it is adequate to search for signs of ankylosing spondylitis in every patient with isolated aortic insufficiency or/and conduction disturbances of unknown etiology and also to performe cardiac careful in each patient with ankylosing spondylitis examination.