Impaired aortic elastic properties in primary osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common chronic diseases and associated with increased cardiovascular comorbidity and deaths. Elastic properties of aorta are closely associated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. In our study, we aimed to evaluate aortic stiffness in primary osteoarthritis patients. A total of 160 patients including 80 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis and 80 controls without osteoarthritis were included in the study. Additionally, osteoarthritis patients were divided into four subgroups according to the severity of the disease. Aortic parameters were evaluated by using transthoracic echocardiography method. While measurements of aortic stiffness of osteoarthritis group were higher compared to the control group (p < 0.01), aortic strain and aortic distensibility measurements of osteoarthritis group are lower than the control group (p < 0.01). Additionally, it was determined that as the severity of osteoarthritis increased also aortic stiffness increased highly significantly (p = 0.001). Presence and severity of osteoarthritis are closely associated with elastic properties of aorta, which are correlated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity.