Heart and systemic sclerosis-findings from a national cohort study

Heart involvement is one of the leading causes of death in SSc. The prevalence of SSc-related cardiac involvement is poorly known. Our objective was to investigate the prevalence and prognosis burden of different heart diseases in a nationwide cohort of patients with SSc.

We used data from a multicentric prospective study using the French SSc national database. Focusing on SSc-related cardiac involvement, we aimed to determine its incidence and risk factors.

Of the 3528 patients with SSc, 312 (10.9%) had SSc-related cardiac involvement at baseline. They tended to have a diffuse SSc subtype more frequently and to have more severe clinical features, and presented more cardiovascular risk factors. From the 1646 patients available for follow-up analysis, SSc-related cardiac involvement was associated with an increased risk of death. There was no significant difference in overall survival between SSc-related cardiac involvement, ischaemic heart disease or pulmonary arterial hypertension. Regarding survival analysis, 98 patients developed SSc-related cardiac involvement at 5 years (5-year event rate 11.15%). Regarding reduced left ventricular ejection fraction <50% and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, the 5-year event rate was 2.49% and 5.84%, respectively. Pericarditis cumulative incidence at 5 years was 3%. Diffuse SSc subtype was a risk factor for SSc-related cardiac involvement and pericarditis. Female sex was associated with less left ventricular diastolic dysfunction incidence.

Our results describe the incidence and prognostic burden of SSc-related cardiac involvement at a large scale, with gender and diffuse SSc subtype as risk factors. Further analyses should assess the potential impact of treatment on these various cardiac outcomes.