Evaluation of heart disease in rheumatoid arthritis using echocardiography

The authors examined, using one- and two-dimensional echocardiography, 95 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 11 patients with lupus erythematodes generalisatus. They revealed acute and chronic changes on the pericardium, impaired left ventricular function and valvular changes in percentages which are not negligible. Although the problem of the aetiopathogenesis of these pathological changes is frequently speculative, their detection is of considerable importance for further treatment and the life-style of these patients. Echocardiography is a suitable method for the comprehensive examination of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, in particular when the course is severe or when patients of advanced age groups are involved.