ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 422

Disease Activity In Rheumatoid Arthritis Is Associated With Abnormal Left Ventricular Geometry

Helga Midtbø1, Eva Gerdts1,2, Inge C. Olsen3, Tore K. Kvien4, Einar Davidsen1 and Anne Grete Semb3, 1Department of Heart Disease, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway, 2Department of Cinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, 3Department of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway, 4Dept. of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Meeting: 2013 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Keywords: ,

Session Information

Title: Rheumatoid Arthritis - Clinical Aspects I: Comorbidities in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Session Type: Abstract Submissions (ACR)

Background/Purpose :

Disease activity is related to risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients1,2. Left ventricular (LV) geometry strongly predicts CV mortality and morbidity. Less is known about the relation between LV geometry and RA disease activity. Our objective was to study if RA or RA disease activity was associated with abnormal LV geometry measured as increased LV relative wall thickness (RWT) or LV mass.

Methods:

Echocardiography, clinical and laboratory assessments were performed in 129 RA patients without prior myocardial infarction or valvular disease and 102 healthy controls. Age-adjusted RWT (LV posterior wall thickness to internal LV radius ratio) and LV mass were calculated by validated equations.

Results:

The RA group was older, had higher blood pressure (BP) and included more women compared to controls (all p<0.05).

Among RA patients, higher RWT correlated with higher systolic BP, wall stress, and RA disease activity measured by Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ), Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI),  Simple DAI (SDAI) and  Disease Activity Score in 28 Joints (DAS28) in univariate analyses (all p<0.05). Wall stress and systolic BP were the main covariates of higher RWT in multivariate analyses both among RA patients and controls (both p<0.001) (Table). However, the analyses showed that among RA patients, RWT was associated with higher RA disease activity independent of gender, systolic BP and wall stress (Table). Higher LV mass was independently associated with higher systolic BP, age and body weight, male gender and lower LV ejection fraction (all p<0.05), but was not associated with any marker of RA disease activity (data not shown).

Conclusion:

Abnormal LV geometry was independently associated with markers of increased disease activity in RA, pointing to the importance of disease activity control in RA patients.

References:

1.    Provan S et al Remission is the mission in cardiovascular disease prevention:A cross-sectional controlled study of CVD risk markers in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 May;70(5):812-7.

2.    Semb AG et al. TK Kvien. Carotid plaque characteristics and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol 2013;40;359-368

 

 

Disclosure:

H. Midtbø,
None;

E. Gerdts,
None;

I. C. Olsen,
None;

T. K. Kvien,
None;

E. Davidsen,
None;

A. G. Semb,
None.

« Back to 2013 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/disease-activity-in-rheumatoid-arthritis-is-associated-with-abnormal-left-ventricular-geometry/