The aim of this study was to evaluate diastolic functions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by propagation velocity and intraventricular dispersion of E wave velocity.
Thirty-four patients fulfilling American Rheumatism Association (ARA) criteria for the diagnosis of RA without evidence of cardiac disease and left ventricular systolic dysfunction were enrolled in this study. Echocardiographic examinations were performed for the evaluation of diastolic dysfunction in all patients.
Propagation velocity in RA patients was significantly lower than the control group (42+/-16 cm/s, 54+/-15 cm/s, p=0.002). There was significant intraventricular dispersion of E wave velocity towards the cardiac apex in RA patients (p<0.001) when compared with the controls (p=0.79). There was a significant correlation between intraventricular dispersion of E wave velocity and diastolic dysfunction in the patients in which the duration of illness was longer than 10 years (p<0.001).
Structural myocardial abnormalities may cause impaired left ventricular relaxation in RA patients and these changes are correlated with the duration of the disease. Our findings demonstrate that combined use of propagation velocity and intraventricular dispersion of E wave velocity can help the early determination of diastolic functions in the patients with RA.