Valvular involvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Although pericarditis is the most commonly recognized cardiac lesion in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), this disease affects all the three cardiac layers.

Objective: To study valvular lesions in RA, trying to correlate them with other clinical variables, auto antibodies and functional class.

Methods: One hundred twenty two controls and 184 patients with RA without cardiac symptoms were studied using bidimensional echocardiography.