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- Bjarnegård, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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Increased aortic pulse wave velocity in middle-aged women with systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2006
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Ingår i: Lupus. - : SAGE Publications. - 0961-2033 .- 1477-0962. ; 15:10, s. 644-650
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a connective tissue disease where inflammatory activity affects several organ systems. An increased risk of cardiovascular disease has been identified in these patients, even after correction for traditional risk factors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate arterial stiffness and central hemodynamics in women with SLE in comparison to controls. Arterial tonometry was used to measure aortic (carotid-femoral) and arm (carotid-radial) pulse wave velocity (PWV), reflected pressure waves, and aortic augmentation index (AIx) in 27 women with SLE (52 to 68 years) and 27 controls. Aortic PWV was higher in women with SLE than controls, 9.8 m/s versus 8.2 m/s (P 0.01), after correction for mean arterial pressure and body mass index, 9.5 m/s versus 8.5 m/s (P 0.05). Other parameters were similar, arm PWV, 8.4 versus 8.5 m/s, AIx 34 versus 33% and calculated central aortic pulse pressure 48 versus 43 mmHg, in SLE and controls, respectively (NS). Aortic PWV was positively associated to C-reactive protein (CRP) and complement factor 3 (C3). Women with SLE have increased stiffness of their elastic central arteries. This may be one factor contributing to the increased cardiovascular risk seen in this cohort.
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| 2. |
- Mohammad, A. J., et al.
(författare)
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The extent and pattern of organ damage in small vessel vasculitis measured by the Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI)
- 2009
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology. - London, UK : Informa UK Limited. - 1502-7732 .- 0300-9742. ; 38:4, s. 268-275
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To assess the extent and pattern of irreversible organ damage in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), and Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) by a cross-sectional point prevalence study within a defined geographical area. Methods: The Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI) was recorded for 86 prevalent cases, classified as 46 patients with WG, 27 with MPA, nine with PAN, and four with CSS from a defined population in southern Sweden, with a median age of 64.8 years and a median disease duration of 9 years. The VDI was determined for all patients at the day of point prevalence (pp), 1 January 2003. Results: The median VDI score was 3 [interquartile range (IQR) 2-5] for all patients: 3 (2-4) for WG, 3 (1.5-4.5) for MPA, 5 (2-6) for PAN, and 1.5 (0.75-2.75) for CSS. Only 9% of patients had not been assigned a single item of damage. The most common damage was cardiovascular, followed by renal, neuropsychiatric, ear nose and throat (ENT), and musculoskeletal. Major vascular and treatment-related damage was associated with advanced age whereas ENT damage was more prevalent in younger patients. There was an almost complete separation between ENT damage and cardiac and renal damage with only two out of the 22 patients assigned ENT damage having experienced renal damage; none had been assigned cardiac damage. Patients with cardiac damage had significantly higher damage rates. Conclusions: Damage remains an important problem for patients with systemic vasculitis despite effective remission-inducing drugs. Only a small fraction of patients are unmarked by their disease.
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| 5. |
- Turesson, Carl, et al.
(författare)
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Increased stiffness of the abdominal aorta in women with rheumatoid arthritis
- 2005
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Ingår i: Rheumatology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1462-0324 .- 1462-0332. ; 44:7, s. 896-901
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. To study the distensibility and the diameter of the abdominal aorta and the common carotid artery (CCA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and investigate the relation between mechanical properties of these arteries and disease severity. Methods. One hundred and one patients with RA (33 consecutive cases with extra-articular manifestations, and 68 subjects with non-extra-articular disease, matched for age, sex and disease duration) were investigated. Echo-tracking ultrasonography was used to measure stiffness and mean diameter of the abdominal aorta and the CCA. The patients were compared with healthy individuals from the corresponding age group (n=74 for measurements of the aorta, n = 64 for the CCA). Predicted values for stiffness and mean diameter, based on age and sex, were calculated. Results. Stiffness of the abdominal aorta was increased in women with RA [mean percentage of predicted value (% predicted) 180, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 150-211] but not in men (% predicted 99, 95% CI 75-122). CCA stiffness was less markedly increased, and mean diameters of the aorta and the CCA were not different from the expected. In the RA cohort, patients with extra-articular manifestations tended to have greater stiffness of the aorta (P = 0.11), and disability, as indicated by a higher Health Assessment Questionnaire score, was associated with increased aortic stiffness (P = 0.04). Conclusion. RA is associated with decreased distensibility of the abdominal aorta in females, and such changes seem to correlate with disease severity. We suggest that arterial stiffness is an important factor in cardiovascular co-morbidity in RA. © The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved.
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