Tei Index in a Sample of Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Background and objectives: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory disease of immunological origin which has been correlated with higher cardiovascular risk. Although the risk factors are not clear, many cardiac alterations have been described, such as conduction disturbances, coronary heart disease, aortic root dilation, cardiac valve alterations, and ventricular diastolic dysfunction. The objective of this study was to evaluate echocardiographic findings in AS patients who were asymptomatic for cardiac disorders, and to compare them with findings from healthy subjects. Materials and methods: This study compared echocardiographic findings for 22 patients diagnosed with AS who had no previous cardiac abnormalities and 22 healthy subjects. We evaluated the cardiac cavities, left ventricular mass index, indices of systolic and diastolic ventricular function, the function and anatomy of the heart valves, and the myocardial performance index. Some of these measurements were correlated with disease duration and BASDAI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index). Results: There was no statistical difference between groups with regards to the size of cardiac chambers, ventricular mass index, and relative thickness of the ventricular wall. As for the ejection fraction, individuals in the AS group had lower levels for this parameter (p=0.02). The myocardial performance index (Tei index), considering TEI ≥ 0.44 as abnormal, was altered in 31.82% of the patient group, while no patient in the control group had an altered Tei index (p=0.009), reflecting poorer ventricular performance in patients with AS.