Anticardiolipin antibody and cardiac disorders in collagen diseases

The aim of this study is to clarify the relationship between anticardiolipin antibody (ACLA) and cardiac disorders in collagen disease. Echocardiography and ACLA measurement (ELISA method) were performed in 125 patients with collagen disease (59 rheumatoid arthritis, 24 progressive systemic sclerosis, 23 systems lupus erythematosus and 19 others; 114 women and 11 men, fifty-four ± thirteen years old).