Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis and Evaluation of Subclinical Involvement.

Introduction: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory condition primarily affecting the spine and the joints. It also affects multiple organs in the body including the cardiovascular system. Left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) is a good measure for recognizing subclinical myocardial dysfunction.