TY - JOUR T1 - Are aortic coarctation and rheumatoid arthritis different models of aortic stiffness? Data from an echocardiographic study. JF - Cardiovasc Ultrasound Y1 - 2018 A1 - Faganello, Giorgio A1 - Cioffi, Giovanni A1 - Rossini, Maurizio A1 - Ognibeni, Federica A1 - Giollo, Alessandro A1 - Fisicaro, Maurizio A1 - Russo, Giulia A1 - Di Nora, Concetta A1 - Doimo, Sara A1 - Tarantini, Luigi A1 - Mazzone, Carmine A1 - Cherubini, Antonella A1 - D'Agata Mottolesi, Biancamaria A1 - Pandullo, Claudio A1 - Di Lenarda, Andrea A1 - Sinagra, Gianfranco A1 - Viapiana, Ombretta KW - Aorta KW - Aortic Coarctation KW - Arthritis, Rheumatoid KW - Humans KW - Prognosis KW - Vascular Stiffness AB -

BACKGROUND: Patients who underwent a successful repair of the aortic coarctation (CoA) show high risk for cardiovascular (CV) events. Mechanical and structural abnormalities in the ascending aorta (Ao) might have a role in the prognosis of CoA patients. We analyzed the elastic properties of Ao measured as aortic stiffness index (AoSI) in CoA patients in the long-term period and we compared AoSI with a cohort of 38 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 38 non-RA matched controls.

METHODS: Data from 19 CoA patients were analyzed 28 ± 13 years after surgery. Abnormally high AoSI was diagnosed if AoSI > 6.07% (95th percentile of the AoSI detected in our reference healthy population). AoSI was assessed at the level of the aortic root by two-dimensional guided M-mode evaluation.

RESULTS: CoA patients showed more than two-fold higher AoSI compared to RA and controls (9.8 ± 12.6 vs 4.8 ± 2.5% and 3.1 ± 2.0%, respectively; all p < 0.05 and in 5 of 19 patients with CoA (26%) AoSI was exceptionally high. The 5 patients with abnormally high AoSI were older with higher BP, LV mass and prevalence of LV diastolic dysfunction. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that AoSI was independently related to the presence of LV hypertrophy and higher LV relative wall thickness.

CONCLUSIONS: CoA patients have higher AoSI levels than RA patients and non-RA matched controls. AoSI levels are abnormally high in a small sub-group of CoA patients who show a very high-risk clinical profile for adverse CV events.

VL - 16 IS - 1 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29940971?dopt=Abstract ER -