Volume 25 , Issue 1 , June 2023 , Pages 116-123
Krmanj Mohammed Hadi 1 ; Raouf Rahim Mirza 1 ; Dana Hama Baqi Mohammed Saeedq 1 ; Farman Abdullah Ahmed 2
1 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
2 Sulaimaniyah Center for Heart Diseases, Ministry of Health, Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Background: The frequency of valvular heart disease (VHD) among rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) patients varies in the literature ranging between 3-70%. This
considerable variability might be attributed to the examined population's varied
genetic backgrounds and the different methodologies utilized to identify valvular
disease. VHD resulting in severe symptomatic aortic insufficiency is an
uncommon RA consequence. Objectives: This study aimed to look for cardiac
valve involvement in RA patients and determine whether it is linked with disease
activity and duration. Methods: Fifty RA patients were recruited consecutively, 5
were males, and 45 were females, aged 27 to 65 years, with a mean of 49.86 ±
9.98. All patients were free from cardiac diseases and underwent entire history,
physical examination, laboratory test, and transthoracic echocardiography. The
findings were compared to those of age and gender-matched controls, who had no
rheumatic and cardiac diseases. Results: Valvular lesions were found in 18 (36%)
RA patients, whereas only 2 (4%) of the controls had valvular lesions (p=
0.000063). The most frequently affected valve was the mitral valve 11(61%).
There was no relationship between VHD and the duration of the disease, clinical
disease activity index (CDAI) score, body mass index (BMI), and smoking.
Conclusions: This study has confirmed that VHD (specific to the mitral valve) is
significantly higher in RA patients compared with the control sample. There was
no correlation between VHD and RA's disease duration, clinical, laboratory, or
treatment characteristics.