[Echocardiography in the evaluation of cardiac involvement in seronegative spondylo-arthropathies]

To evaluate the involvement of the heart in patients with seronegative spondyloarthropathies by echodopplercardiography, 35 patients including 20 with ankylosing spondylitis, 10 with Reiter's syndrome and 5 with psoriatic arthritis (21 men and 14 women, with ages ranging from 17-68 years and averaging 38.5) were studied. Most were asymptomatic with respect to the cardiovascular system (65.71%) and 12 oligosymptomatic with palpitations as their main complaint. Each patient had an echocardiogram and electrocardiogram. A two-dimensional echocardiogram demonstrated alterations in 19 patients (54.29%), 28.58% asymptomatic and 25.71% symptomatic. This study revealed most of lesions (17/19-84.47%) followed by the Dopplerechocardiography (10/19-52.63%) and the one-dimensional echocardiography (9/19-47.36%). Abnormal aortic valves were found in 10 patients, in 7 thickenning and in 3 calcifications. The mitral valve was involved in 11 patients, in 8 thickenning, in 1 calcification and in 2 valve prolapse. In ankylosing spondylitis aortic valve disease was found in 8 patients. Dopplerechocardiography evidenced the presence of aortic regurgitation in 4 patients and mitral insufficiency in 3. The Q-T interval was increased in 19 patients, there was one first degree auriculoventricular block, one right branch block and one sinus bradicardia. Thus the echocardiogram is an excellent noninvasive method to disclose cardiac disturbances in patients with seronegative spondyloarthropaties.