[The assessment of left ventricular diastolic function in patients with systemic scleroderma by radionuclide...

To assess left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in scleroderma systematica (SS) with regard to SS course and skin lesion degree, a total of 24 SS patients were examined versus control subjects. Though cardiac symptoms manifested clinically only in 8 patients, parameters of LV diastolic function underwent changes in the majority of the examinees: the time to attaining maximal filling velocity increased, contribution of the first diastolic third to LV filling diminished, hemodynamic significance of the left atrial systole grew. More pronounced dysfunction of the myocardium occurred in patients with diffuse skin lesions, acute and subacute disease who also appeared to have reduced LV ejection fraction. The conclusion is made on frequent subclinical pattern of myocardial involvement in SS patients which runs primarily as LV diastolic dysfunction. Systolic disturbance emerge later or in more active forms.