Left ventricular wall motion abnormalities in 80 patients with systemic sclerosis

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Rheumatology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune disease affecting connective tissues.
• Cardiac involvement is a known complication of systemic sclerosis.
• Left ventricular wall motion abnormalities can indicate myocardial dysfunction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess left ventricular wall motion in patients with systemic sclerosis using echocardiography.
• To determine the prevalence of wall motion abnormalities in different subtypes of systemic sclerosis.

Main Methods:

• Echocardiography was used for segmental analysis of left ventricular wall motion.
• Eighty patients diagnosed with systemic sclerosis were included in the study.
• Patients were categorized into limited cutaneous and diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis subgroups.

Main Results:

• Fifty percent of patients with systemic sclerosis exhibited normal left ventricular wall motion.
• Hypokinetic wall motion abnormalities were observed in 31.6% of patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis.
• Akinesis was identified in three patients, all belonging to the limited cutaneous subgroup.

Conclusions:

• Hypokinetic wall motion abnormalities are frequently detected in patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis.
• Echocardiography is a valuable tool for evaluating cardiac function in systemic sclerosis.
• Further research is warranted to understand the clinical implications of these findings.