POS0552 DIASTOLIC DYSFUNCTION ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED ACTIVITY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Authors: S. Lugo-Perez, D. Á. Galarza-Delgado, J. R. Azpiri-López, I. J. Colunga-Pedraza, N. Guajardo-Jauregui, A. B. Rodriguez-Romero, A. Cárdenas, H. Azpiri-Diaz, O. A. Cepeda-Ayala
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) reflected by a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), a chronic systemic inflammatory state and heart failure compared to the general population (1). Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is attributable to structural abnormalities such as hypertrophy or interstitial fibrosis and impaired myocyte relaxation resulting from ischemia and is frequently asymptomatic (2). The presence of LVDD it could be considered as the first step to development of heart failure. Objectives: The aim of the study is to identify the association of disease activity and the presence of LVDD in patients with RA. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, and comparative study of RA subjects that fulfilled ACR / EULAR 2010 classification criteria, aged 40-75 years. Subjects were evaluated by a transthoracic echocardiogram performed and reviewed by two certified echocardiographers. A total of fifty-one RA patients diagnosed with LVDD were included according to the 2016 American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Distribution was evaluated with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Descriptive analysis was done using measures of central tendency. Chi square, Student´s t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for comparations between groups. A p value &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: We found no statistical difference between groups regarding age, gender, comorbidities (type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia and, active smoking) and body mass index. Patients with LVDD demonstrated a higher disease activity evaluated by disease activity score using 28 joints-C reactive protein (DAS28-PCR) (4.88 vs 3.56, p = 0.004) (Table 1). It was observed that patients with LVDD have a higher prevalence of being in the high disease activity category (41.2% vs. 13.7%, p = 0.002) (Figure 1). When performing a binary logistic regression, it was found that a high disease activity was the only independent predictor for the presence of LVDD, with an OR 4.70, (95% CI 1.63-13.50, p = 0.004). Table 1. Demographic and disease characteristics RA patients with LVDD (n=51 ) RA patients without LVDD (n=51 ) p Women, n (%) 50 (98) 47 (92.2) NS Age, years ± SD 56.12 ± 8.76 53.91 ± 5.61 NS HTN, n (%) 17 (33.3) 13 (25.5) NS T2DM, n (%) 6 (11.8) 10 (19.6) NS Dyslipidemia, n (%) 17 (33.3) 11 (21.6) NS Active smoking, n (%) 5 (9.8) 5 (9.8) NS BMI kg/m 2 ± SD 28.20 ± 4.89 29.40 ± 5.13 NS Disease duration, years (p25-p75) 10.70 (5.16-17.87) 5.66 (2.67-15.64) 0.033 DAS28-CRP, median (p25-p75) 4.88 (3.53-5.45) 3.56 (3.00-4.69) 0.004 NS, no significative; HTN, hypertension; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus; BMI, body mass index; DAS28, disease activity score using 28 joints; CPR, C reactive protein Conclusion: Patients with RA and LVDD have a higher disease activity, so emphasis should be placed on strict antirheumatic treatment and cardiovascular therapies to avoid the risk of developing CVD and the progression to heart failure. Logistic regression demonstrates that inadequate disease control is an independent factor from traditional CVRFs for the presence of LVDD. References: [1]Dal Piaz EC, Cioffi G, Ognibeni F, et al. Incidence and predictors of new onset left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in asymptomatic patients with rheumatoid arthritis without overt cardiac disease. Monaldi Arch Chest Dis 2019;89(3) doi: 10.4081/monaldi.2019.1053 [2]Abdul Muizz AM, Mohd Shahrir MS, Sazliyana S, et al. A cross-sectional study of diastolic dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis and its association with disease activity. Int J Rheum Dis 2011;14(1):18-30. doi: 10.1111/j.1756-185X.2010.01593.x Disclosure of Interests: None declared