Cardiac and pulmonary alterations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

cardiac and pulmonary clinical manifestations frequently absent in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to evaluate cardiac and pulmonary alterations in RA among patients without clinical manifestations. The study was conducted in 169 patients (127 female and 42 male, w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMedicinski arhiv Vol. 64; no. 2; p. 101
Main Authors Berisha, Idriz, Berisha, Blerim, Krasniqi, Xhevdet
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bosnia and Herzegovina 2010
Subjects
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - complications
Female
Heart Valve Diseases - complications
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pericarditis - complications
Pulmonary Fibrosis - complications
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Summary:cardiac and pulmonary clinical manifestations frequently absent in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to evaluate cardiac and pulmonary alterations in RA among patients without clinical manifestations. The study was conducted in 169 patients (127 female and 42 male, with mean age 51.6, SD +/- 12.7 years, P > 0.05) with RA diagnosed on the basis of ACR criteria. All patients underwent a transthoracal echocardiography (TTE), a chest X ray, an electrocardiogram and laboratory tests. Patients with clinical manifestations of cardiac and pulmonary disease were excluded from the study. Pericarditis was evidenced in 16.6%, mitral regurgitation in 21.9%, aortal regurgitation in 26%, and pulmonary diffuse fibrosis in 16.6% of cases The authors found that 158 (93.5%) of patients were CRP positive. Our study demonstrated that cardiac and pulmonary alterations are frequently present and prevalence of elevated CRP levels and positive serologic tests was high in asymptomatic patients with RA among patients without clinical manifestations.