Diastolic function is significantly impaired in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an association that is independent of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) use, study findings from the journal Clinical Rheumatology show.
The increased mortality associated with RA is predominantly attributable to an excess of cardiovascular disease, one of the earliest symptoms of which is diastolic dysfunction, explain Dilek Yazici and fellow scientists from Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey.
Noting that the development of cardiac abnormalities over time and the influence of drug therapy in RA patients is poorly understood, Yazici et al conducted a study of 72 patients with RA aged an average of 48 years who had no known cardiac abnormalities.
Using Doppler ultrasonography, the researchers demonstrated that diastolic dysfunction was significantly more common in RA patients than in individuals without the disease, affecting 76% and 18% of individuals, respectively.
Of note, over a 5-year follow-up period, DMARD therapy had no significant effect on disease status, but did appear to prevent further deterioration of diastolic function among those with diastolic dysfunction.
"In conclusion, RA patients have subclinical myocardial involvement detected as diastolic dysfunction," summarize the researchers. They add: "Further studies with larger populations are needed to determine the effects of aggressive anti-inflammatory therapy on cardiac dysfunction in RA patients."