Silent Cardiac Involvement in Rheumatic Disease

Silent cardiac involvement in rheumatic disease was studied in 61 patients with various rheumatic diseases and 15 healthy controls by noninvasive methods, including electrocardiogram, M-mode and 2 dimensional echocardiography, and systolic time intervals. Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondiylitis showed prolongation of QTc and QRS, respectively. Systolic time intervals were equal in both groups. A significant increase in left ventricular mass was found in patients with rheumatic diseases. Therefore we can conclude that these results support the silent cardiac involvement in rheumatic diseases.