Cardiac involvement in ankylosing spondylitis patients detected with holter monitoring

Abstract EN

Objective: To determine a pattern of cardiac involvement in ankylosing spondylitis patients and to evaluate these cardiac abnormalities in asymptomatic patients.

Methodology: The study was carried out on 20 ankylosing spondylitis patients (AS) as well as 10 healthy controls matched in age and sex.

None of the patients had evidence of cardiac symptoms.

All subjects had complete history, clinical examination, laboratory tests (Rh.F, HLA typing) chest x-ray, ECG and 24 h Holter monitoring.

Results: Cardiac abnormalities were detected in 7 (35%) out of 20 ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients examined with ECG and 24 h Holter monitoring, QT dispersion (QTD) and corrected QTD (QTcD) were significantly greater in AS patients than controls p<0.05, the magnitudes of these parameters were associated with the duration of the disease.

The frequency of ventricular extrasystoles was found to be correlated with QTD and QTcD and there was no correlation between the occurrence of these silent cardiac abnormalities and the clinical and laboratory findings.

Conclusion: Cardiac involvement may be seen during the early clinical course of AS.

QTD may give clues about the presence of arrhythmias and can be used as a new technique for the evaluation of asymptomatic patients.