Diastolic dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis patients with low disease activity

Heart Failure in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Clinical Implications

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review focuses on the association between RA and heart failure, highlighting the role of inflammation and the prevalence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in this population.

RECENT FINDINGS

The incidence of heart failure in RA patients is two to three times higher than in the general population, with inflammation playing a significant role independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. HFpEF accounts for about half of heart failure cases and is increasingly recognized in RA patients, although it remains underdiagnosed. Atypical presentations and non-specific symptoms further complicate diagnosis. Early control of inflammation has been shown to reduce the risk of heart failure development and progression, improving both morbidity and mortality outcomes. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease affecting approximately 1% of the population, with cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of premature death in these patients.

Pathogenesis of ischaemic and non-ischaemic heart diseases in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by a chronic inflammatory condition of the joints, but the comorbidities of RA predominantly contribute to the reduced lifespan associated with this disease. Clinical data indicate that cardiovascular disease is the major comorbidity associated with mortality in RA. In this review, we aimed to describe the pathogenesis of heart failure in RA. First, we emphasised the fundamental differences between ischaemic and non-ischaemic heart diseases and referred to their relevance in excessive cardiovascular-dependent mortality in RA. Second, we highlighted aspects of asymptomatic changes in cardiac tissue and in coronary blood vessels that are commonly found in patients with diagnosed RA. Third, we focused on high-grade systemic inflammation as a key trigger of ischaemic and non-ischaemic heart diseases in RA, and described the implication of conventional and biologic antirheumatic medications on the development and progression of heart disease. In particular, we discussed the roles of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and anti-TNF-α therapies on the development and progression of ischaemic and non-ischaemic heart diseases in RA.

DBA/1 mice display equivalent cardiac function to C57BL/6J mice

NEW FINDINGS

What is the central question of this study? Do normal adult DBA/1 mice have cardiac function and performance equal to those of C57BL/6J mice? What is the main finding and its importance? Male adult DBA/1 mice show equivalent cardiac function to C57BL/6J mice up to 8 months old. Therefore, cardiac dysfunction could be investigated in an autoimmune diseases model established with DBA/1 mice.

ABSTRACT

Cardiovascular mortality has been increasing, and in particular, cardiovascular damage caused by some chronic autoimmune diseases accounts for a large proportion of this. C57BL/6J mice have been used mostly in studies of cardiovascular diseases. However, for purposes of modelling, this strain of mouse has a very low incidence of some chronic immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, to which instead DBA/1 mice are more susceptible. Basic cardiac function differs between mice with different genetic backgrounds. Therefore, we monitored cardiac function and structure of normal male C57BL/6J and DBA/1 mice for six consecutive months. Echocardiography was used to monitor cardiac functions once a month and cardiac systolic function was measured upon isoproterenol challenge at the end of observation. The Excitation-contraction coupling-related proteins were measured by western blotting. Heart tissue sections were subject to haematoxylin-eosin, TUNEL and Alizarin red staining. The results demonstrated that systolic and diastolic function did not vary significantly and both strains were indistinguishable in appearance and structure of hearts. DBA/1 mice showed a good cardiac β-adrenergic response comparable to C57BL/6J mice with isoproterenol treatment. The phosphorylation of phospholamban at either its protein kinase A or its Ca²⁺ /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II site, as well as the activation of troponin I showed no significant difference between strains. These findings suggested that there was no obvious difference in the heart structure and function of normal male DBA/1 mice compared with C57BL/6J mice. The DBA/1 mouse is a strain applicable to investigating autoimmune disease-induced heart dysfunction and exploring potential interventions.

Disease severity affects myocardial functions in patients with treatment-naive early rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVES

The cross-sectional study aimed to assess myocardial functions using global longitudinal strain (GLS) echocardiography and arrhythmia parameters with treatment naive newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and no clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

METHODS

Seventy seven newly diagnosed treatment-naive RA patients were enrolled. Disease severity was evaluated according to rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) positivity, and Disease Activity Score 28 C-reactive protein (DAS28 CRP). Myocardial functions were assessed using conventional echocardiography and GLS technique and electrocardiogram parameters cQT and Tp-e/cQT.

RESULTS

Twenty three patients had severe disease while 54 patients were non-severe. The Left Ventricle GLS (17.98 ± 1.24 vs 21.29 ± 1.03, P < .001), cQT (428.71 ± 9.05 vs 394.61 ± 17.83, P < .001), Tp-e/cQT (0.19 ± 0.02 vs 0.16 ± 0.01, P < .001) for severe RA patients was reduced compared to RA non-severe patients. Penalized maximum likelihood estimation logistic regression analysis revealed LVGLS as the only significantly independent predictor of severe RA disease (OR 0.70, CI 95% 0.52-0.92, P = .001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the LVGLS was revealed 19.9 as GLS discriminative value with 88.8% positive predictive value for predicting severity. Severe RA risk increases when log-odds value was over 0, corresponds to LVGLS value less than 18 by partial effect plots.

CONCLUSION

RA severity was associated with lower LV systolic myocardial function and increased arrhythmia parameters. Only LVGLS was significantly independent predictor of RA disease severity.

The Effect of Anti-TNF Therapy on Cardiac Function in Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Observational Study

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the second most prevalent cause of death in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The systemic inflammatory state in RA patients is deemed responsible for this finding. Anti-inflammatory treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy decreases CV risk and subsequently might improve the cardiac function by lowering the overall inflammatory state. This study investigated the effect of anti-TNF on the cardiac function in RA patients. Fifty one RA patients were included, of which thirty three completed follow-up. Included patients were >18 years, had moderate-high disease activity and no history of cardiac disease. Patients were assessed at baseline and after six months of anti-TNF treatment. Patients underwent conventional Speckle tracking and tissue Doppler echocardiography in combination with clinical and laboratory assessments at baseline and follow-up. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and global longitudinal strain (GLS) showed no changes during follow-up, LVEF 63% (±9) to 62% (±8) p = 0.097 and GLS -20 (±4) to -20 (±3) p = 0.79, respectively. Furthermore, E/e' nor E/A changed significantly between baseline and follow-up, respectively 8 (7-9) and 8 (7-9) p = 0.17 and 1.1 (±0.4) and 1.1 (±0.4) p = 0.94. Follow-up NT-proBNP decreased with 23%, from 89 ng/L (47-142) to 69 ng/L (42-155), p = 0.10. Regression analysis revealed no association between change in inflammatory variables and cardiac function. Echocardiography showed no effect of anti-TNF treatment on the cardiac function in RA patients with low prevalence of cardiac dysfunction. Moreover, NT-proBNP decreased, possibly indicating (subtle) improvement of the cardiac function.

Improving translational research in sex-specific effects of comorbidities and risk factors in ischaemic heart disease and cardioprotection: position paper and recommendations of the ESC Working Group on Cellular Biology of the Heart

Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is a complex disorder and a leading cause of death and morbidity in both men and women. Sex, however, affects several aspects of IHD, including pathophysiology, incidence, clinical presentation, diagnosis as well as treatment and outcome. Several diseases or risk factors frequently associated with IHD can modify cellular signalling cascades, thus affecting ischaemia/reperfusion injury as well as responses to cardioprotective interventions. Importantly, the prevalence and impact of risk factors and several comorbidities differ between males and females, and their effects on IHD development and prognosis might differ according to sex. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these differences are still poorly understood, and their identification might have important translational implications in the prediction or prevention of risk of IHD in men and women. Despite this, most experimental studies on IHD are still undertaken in animal models in the absence of risk factors and comorbidities, and assessment of potential sex-specific differences are largely missing. This ESC WG Position Paper will discuss: (i) the importance of sex as a biological variable in cardiovascular research, (ii) major biological mechanisms underlying sex-related differences relevant to IHD risk factors and comorbidities, (iii) prospects and pitfalls of preclinical models to investigate these associations, and finally (iv) will provide recommendations to guide future research. Although gender differences also affect IHD risk in the clinical setting, they will not be discussed in detail here.

Disease activity is associated with LV dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis patients without clinical cardiovascular disease

OBJECTIVES

The cross-sectional study aimed to assess left ventricular systolic function using global longitudinal strain (GLS) by speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) and arterial stiffness using cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) in Thai adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and no clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

METHODS

Confirmed RA patients were selected from a list of outpatient attendees if they were 18 years (y) without clinical, ECG and echocardiographic evidence of CVD, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and excess alcoholic intake. Controls were matched with age and sex to a list of healthy individuals with normal echocardiograms. All underwent STE and CAVI.

RESULTS

60 RA patients (females = 55) were analysed. Mean standard deviation of patient and control ages were 50 ± 10.2 and 51 ± 9.9 y, respectively, and mean duration of RA was 9.0 ± 6.8 y. Mean DAS28-CRP and DAS28-ESR were 2.9 ± 0.9 and 3.4 ± 0.9, respectively. There was no between-group differences in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), LV sizes, LVMI, LV diastolic function and CAVI were within normal limits but all GLSs values was significantly lower in patients vs. controls: 17.6 ± 3.4 vs 20.4 ± 2.2 (p = 0.03). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated significant correlations between GLSs and RA duration (p = 0.02), and GLSs and DAS28-CRP (p = 0.041).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with RA and no clinical CV disease have reduced LV systolic function as shown by lower GLSs. It is common and associated with disease activity and RA disease duration. 2D speckle-tracking GLSs is robust in detecting this subclinical LV systolic dysfunction.

Trends of Cardiac Complications in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Analysis of the United States National Inpatient Sample; 2005-2014

BACKGROUND

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory condition. Chronic inflammation is associated with atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic kidney disease. But sparse data are available regarding the trends of cardiovascular diseases and complications in RA. We conducted a National Inpatient Sample database analysis to demonstrate the trends of cardiac complications in patients with RA.

METHODS

We used National Inpatient Sample data from 2005 to 2014 to identify admissions with the diagnosis of RA and identified who had associated cardiovascular complications also. The International Classification of Diseases-9th Revision-Clinical Modification codes were used for the diagnoses of RA; congestive heart failure (CHF), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and atrial fibrillation (AF).

RESULTS

A statistically significant increasing trend of AMI, CHF, and AF was found. Independent predictors of mortality in RA patients with AMI were age (OR 1.03, CI 1.02-1.04; P < 0.001), COPD (OR 1.67, CI 1.40-2.00; P < 0.001), cerebrovascular disease (OR 2.207, CI 1.71-2.86; P < 0.001), renal disease (OR 1.42, CI 1.16-1.75; P = 0.001), and alcohol abuse (OR 2.73, CI 1.73-4.32; P < 0.001). Independent predictors of mortality in RA patients with CHF were age (odds ratio [OR] 1.02, confidence interval [CI] 1.017-1.024; P < 0.001]), COPD (OR 1.09, CI 1.01-1.18; P = 0.023), cerebrovascular disease (OR 1.67, CI 1.44-1.95; P < 0.001), renal disease (OR 1.16, CI 1.07-1.27; P = 0.001). Independent predictors of mortality in RA patients with AF were age (OR 1.02, CI 1.02-1.03; P < 0.001), race (OR 1.16, CI 1.02-1.31; P = 0.022), COPD (OR 1.56, CI 1.42-1.71; P < 0.001), peripheral arterial disease (OR 1.34, CI 1.16-1.53; P < 0.001), cerebrovascular disease (OR 2.27, CI 1.0-2.58; P < 0.001), renal disease (OR 1.60, CI 1.44-1.80; P < 0.001). The mortality trend has increased significantly in the CHF (P = 0.025) and AF (P = 0.042) groups during this study period.

CONCLUSIONS

We have found a significant increase in trend of cardiovascular complications in RA patients. The proportion of patients, with cardiovascular comorbidities, have also been increased significantly.

Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Risk Profile in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Low Disease Activity

Objective

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an excess risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD). The objective of the study was to compare CV risk profile in female and male RA patients with low disease activity.

Materials and Methods

The study group consisted of 70 RA patients with continuous low disease activity and no CVD (54 women, 16 men) and 33 healthy controls of comparable age. The groups were assessed for blood pressure, serum amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), electrocardiography, ejection fraction (EF), and diastolic dysfunction (DD).

Results

Significantly higher burden of atherosclerosis, as revealed by higher cIMT, was found in males [0.93 (0.2) mm] vs females [0.80 (0.2) mm]. The risk of 10-year CVD was significantly higher in men than in women with RA. High/very high risk of fatal CVD was found in 62.5% of male patients. Males were significantly more often current/ex-smokers and had lower HDL-cholesterol and higher atherogenic index. There were no significant differences in NT-proBNP, QTc duration, and parameters of EF and DD.

Conclusions

In RA patients with continued low disease activity, a higher burden of atherosclerosis was found in males than in females. The data suggest a significant impact of traditional CV risk factors.