Impaired Left Ventricular Diastolic Functions and Thickened Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients is Correlated with DAS-28 Score.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that is known to be associated with high cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate whether RA disease activity reflected with disease activity score-28 (DAS-28) had an impact on left ventricular diastolic functions and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness in RA patients with no traditional CV risk factors.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 41 patients newly diagnosed with RA were included. In addition to medical history, detailed physical examination findings and laboratory tests, left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions, chamber dimensions, and EAT thickness were evaluated with transthoracic echocardiography in the study population.

Results: This study included 41 subjects with a median age of 45 years (38.00-55.50), of which 29.27% were male. In the binomial logistic regression analysis, DAS-28 score was found to be an independent associate of diastolic dysfunction, Additionally, DAS-28 was found to be independently associated with EAT thickness.

Conclusions: Patients with high DAS-28 score should be evaluated thoroughly for CV disease, and patients should undergo advanced diagnostic studies as required and receive appropriate treatment.