Peripheral microcirculatory abnormalities are associated with cardiovascular risk in systemic sclerosis: a nailfold video capillaroscopy study.

Introduction: Microvascular dysfunction is the key element in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc), whereas the contribution of large and medium size vessel abnormalities is yet to be established. The aim of the present study is to assess the association between micro- and macrovascular function by utilizing a broad spectrum of assessments of vascular performance.

Methods: We included consecutive, consenting SSc patients who underwent nailfold video capillaroscopy (NVC) for microcirculation evaluation.