The cardiovascular manifestations of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma)

Coronary Flow Velocity Reserve by Echocardiography: Beyond Atherosclerotic Disease

Coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) is defined as the ratio between coronary flow velocity during maximal hyperemia and coronary flow at rest. Gold-standard techniques to measure CFVR are either invasive or require radiation and are therefore inappropriate for large-scale adoption. More than 30 years ago, echocardiography was demonstrated to be a reliable tool to assess CFVR, and its field of application rapidly expanded. Although initially validated to assess the hemodynamic relevance of a coronary stenosis, CFVR by echocardiography was later used to investigate coronary microcirculation. Microvascular dysfunction was detected in many different conditions, ranging from organ transplantation to inflammatory disorders and from metabolic diseases to cardiomyopathies. Moreover, it has been proven that CFVR by echocardiography not only detects coronary microvascular involvement but is also an effective prognostic factor that allows a precise risk stratification of the patients. In this review, we will summarize the many applications of CFVR by echocardiography, focusing on the coronary involvement of systemic diseases.

Nailfold avascular score and coronary microvascular dysfunction in systemic sclerosis: A newsworthy association

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

We aimed to assess the relationship between nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) abnormalities and coronary flow reserve (CFR), a marker of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

METHODS

We studied 39 SSc patients (33 females, mean ± SD age 54 ± 12 years, median disease duration 11 years, range 6-22) and 22 controls (matched for age and sex) without any evidence of cardiovascular disease. Clinical assessment was performed by modified Rodnan skin score (mRss) and EUSTAR score. Coronary flow velocities in the left anterior descending coronary artery were measured by transthoracic echocardiography. Average peak flow velocities, CFR and microvascular resistance at baseline (BMR) and in hyperaemic (HMR) condition were assessed. CFR ≤2.5 was considered marker of CMD. Six NVC-abnormalities were evaluated by a semi quantitative scoring system: enlarged and giant capillaries (diameter > 20 μm and >50 μm, respectively), hemorrhages, disarray, capillary ramifications and loss of capillaries (avascular score). Statistic was performed using SPSS.

RESULTS

CFR was lower in SSc patients than in controls (2.6 ± 0.5 vs 3.3 ± 0.5). CMD was detected in 24 patients (61.5%) vs 0 controls (p < .0001). CFR was inversely correlated with NVC-avascular score (rho =-0.750, p < .0001). Avascular and capillary ramifications scores (p = .001 and p = .03, respectively), mRss (p = .003) and EUSTAR score (p = .01) were higher in patients with CMD than in those without. At multivariable analysis, avascular score was independently associated with CMD (p = .01). HMR was directly correlated with avascular score (rho = 0.416, p = .008).

CONCLUSIONS

In our SSc patients NVC-avascular score was associated with CMD which seems to be the result of a structural microvascular remodeling.

The increased cardiovascular risk in patients affected by autoimmune diseases: review of the various manifestations

Cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases are among major health concerns in developed countries, and both represent a significant source of morbidity, mortality and economic costs. Despite they are thought to affect subjects at different ages, most of the deaths of patients affected by autoimmune diseases are represented by cardiovascular deaths. Several manifestations of cardiovascular diseases can be observed in patients with autoimmune diseases, such as endothelial dysfunction, accelerated atherosclerosis and an increase in the rate of acute coronary syndromes. Thus, people with autoimmune diseases have an increased cardiovascular risk and a worse outcome in the case of cardiovascular events. In this review, we will describe the correlations between the two spectra of diseases.

Kidney involvement in systemic sclerosis

Kidney involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is primarily manifested by scleroderma renal crisis (SRC). Formerly, it was the most severe complication in scleroderma and was the most frequent cause of death in these patients. More than 30years ago, with the development of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, SRC became a very treatable complication of scleroderma. Although there are still many patients who do not survive and have poor outcomes, early diagnosis of renal crisis and prompt therapeutic intervention can achieve excellent outcomes. Renal abnormalities independent of renal crisis have been noted, but can usually be attributed to other problems. Further understanding of the pathogenesis of renal disease in scleroderma may lead to additional improvement in the therapy of renal crisis and perhaps the disease in general. This chapter reviews the pathogenesis, clinical setting, and therapy of this serious complication of SSc.

Prognostic impact of coronary microcirculation abnormalities in systemic sclerosis: a prospective study to evaluate the role of non-invasive tests

Introduction

Microcirculation dysfunction is a typical feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and represents the earliest abnormality of primary myocardial involvement. We assessed coronary microcirculation status by combining two functional tests in SSc patients and estimating its impact on disease outcome.

Methods

Forty-one SSc patients, asymptomatic for coronary artery disease, were tested for coronary flow velocity reserve (CFR) by transthoracic-echo-Doppler with adenosine infusion (A-TTE) and for left ventricular wall motion abnormalities (WMA) by dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE). Myocardial multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) enabled the presence of epicardial stenosis, which could interfere with the accuracy of the tests, to be excluded. Patient survival rate was assessed over a 6.7- ± 3.5-year follow-up.

Results

Nineteen out of 41 (46%) SSc patients had a reduced CFR (≤2.5) and in 16/41 (39%) a WMA was observed during DSE. Furthermore, 13/41 (32%) patients showed pathological CFR and WMA. An inverse correlation between wall motion score index (WMSI) during DSE and CFR value (r = -0.57, P <0.0001) was observed; in addition, CFR was significantly reduced (2.21 ± 0.38) in patients with WMA as compared to those without (2.94 ± 0.60) (P <0.0001). In 12 patients with abnormal DSE, MDCT was used to exclude macrovasculopathy. During a 6.7- ± 3.5-year follow-up seven patients with abnormal coronary functional tests died of disease-related causes, compared to only one patient with normal tests.

Conclusions

A-TTE and DSE tests are useful tools to detect non-invasively pre-clinical microcirculation abnormalities in SSc patients; moreover, abnormal CFR and WMA might be related to a worse disease outcome suggesting a prognostic value of these tests, similar to other myocardial diseases.

Systemic sclerosis and aortic valve stenosis: therapeutic implications in two cases of aortic valve replacement

Cardiac involvement is very frequent and underestimated in systemic sclerosis, but few reports have been published on the surgical treatment of patients with systemic sclerosis. We describe herein two cases of valve replacement because of aortic stenosis.

The heart in scleroderma

The heart is one of the major organs involved in scleroderma, the involvement of which can be manifested by myocardial disease, conduction system abnormalities, arrhythmias, or pericardial disease. Additionally, scleroderma renal crisis and pulmonary hypertension lead to significant cardiac dysfunction secondary to damage in the kidney and lung. This article summarizes the types and mechanism of abnormalities in the heart in scleroderma. The concept of cardiac dysfunction in scleroderma and other rheumatologic conditions has received new interest with the advent of newer noninvasive imaging techniques, as well as the interest in detecting subclinical disease. With this increased interest in cardiac manifestations in scleroderma comes the realization that long-term studies are needed to better assess the appropriate screening and treatment in this patient population.

Serum levels of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase 2 in patients with systemic sclerosis with duration more than 2 years: correlation with cardiac and pulmonary abnormalities

In this study, we measured the serum concentration of TIMP-2 in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and explored its possible correlation with cardiac and pulmonary lesions. We studied 42 patients with SSc, with duration equal to or more than 2 years. CT chest, ECG, echocardiography, and serum TIMP-2 concentration measurement using ELISA technique were performed in all patients and in 25 normal controls. The mean serum levels of TIMP-2 in patients was higher than in controls (P = .005). The mean CT score of dSSc patients with elevated TIMP-2 levels was significantly higher than dSSc patients with normal levels (P = .013). Four patients out of five with elevated TIMP-2 levels showed diastolic dysfunction (80%), compared to 2 out of 15 lSSc patients with normal levels (13.3%), with P = .014. Our research, though involving a small group of patients, points to the probable role of TIMP-2 in the development of pulmonary lesions in dSSc patients and cardiac lesions in lSSc patients with duration equal to or more than 2 years.

Systemic and localized scleroderma in children: current and future treatment options

Scleroderma is a group of rare and complex diseases with varied clinical manifestations. The most obvious manifestation of the diseases is skin hardening and sclerosis. Scleroderma can be divided into two main subgroups: systemic and localized. The systemic form, also known as systemic sclerosis, involves diffuse skin involvement and potentially severe visceral involvement. Localized scleroderma on the other hand is more common in children and usually confined to a specific region of the body with no internal organ involvement. The juvenile forms of systemic sclerosis and localized scleroderma are important conditions in children because of the clinical severity and substantial mortality of systemic scleroderma and the major growth defects associated with childhood-onset localized disease even if the active disease itself is self-limited. The pathogenic pathways of the various forms of scleroderma are only partially defined, but the main defect in scleroderma is abnormal collagen deposition leading to eventual fibrosis in the skin as well as multiple organ systems such as the heart and lungs in juvenile systemic sclerosis. Therapeutics are divided into three main subgroups for systemic sclerosis: antifibrotics, anti-inflammatories, and vasodilators. For localized disease, anti-inflammatories, vitamin D analogs, and UV irradiation have been investigated. However, the infrequency of scleroderma in the pediatric population plus the fact that this disease is very often self-limiting makes randomized controlled trials very difficult. It is for this reason that most data on treatment modalities for this disease have been extrapolated from studies in adult patients. There is no one therapy for systemic sclerosis or localized scleroderma that has proven to be very effective or significantly disease modifying. However, current therapeutic strategies must be initiated early in the disease course for maximum beneficial clinical effects. New interventions such as autologous stem cell transplant and cytokine-directed therapies are under investigation as potential treatments for this complex disease.

Natural history of systemic sclerosis and the assessment of disease activity, severity, functional status, and psychologic well-being

The natural history of systemic sclerosis (SSc) is best understood by dividing patients into those who have diffuse cutaneous involvement or limited cutaneous involvement; each of these subsets can be further divided into early and late disease. Each of these four stages has characteristic clinical and laboratory features. Findings that are typical of inflammation (eg, tendon friction rubs, carpal tunnel syndrome) appear in early disease, whereas those that represent vascular and other organ structural changes (eg, joint contractures, telangiectasias, calcinosis) occur predominantly in late disease. Preliminary methods to measure SSc activity and damage have been published but require external validation and refinement. Among patient-completed instruments that assess functional status, the disability index of the Health Assessment Questionnaire is the most widely used and has face and construct validity, reliability, and sensitivity to change and is an accurate predictor of survival.

Scleroderma pericardial disease presented with a large pericardial effusion--a case report

Scleroderma pericardial disease is usually silent and benign. The incidence of pericardial involvement in scleroderma is about 50% according to autopsy results, but symptomatic pericarditis manifests in about 16% of patients with diffuse scleroderma and in about 30% of patients with limited scleroderma. The clinically evident pericardial effusion is rare in scleroderma, although it can be detected in about 41% of patients with echocardiography. In majority of the patients, the pericardial effusion is small and not associated with symptoms. The pericardial effusion manifests usually after the manifestation of the other clinical and serologic features of scleroderma. A case of scleroderma is reported that presented with a large pericardial effusion, which antedated the other clinical and serologic features of scleroderma. The pericardial involvement in scleroderma is reviewed.

Cardiovascular manifestations of systemic autoimmune diseases

The systemic autoimmune diseases are a protean group of illnesses that primarily affect the joints, muscles, and connective tissue. All aspects of the cardiovascular system can be involved with clinical consequences ranging from asymptomatic abnormalities to serious life-threatening conditions. This article discusses the cardiovascular manifestations of the systemic autoimmune diseases with particular focus on clinical pathophysiology and management.

Clinical manifestations of systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis is a multisystem disease characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of many organs. There are two major subsets, limited cutaneous (the old CREST syndrome) and diffuse cutaneous scleroderma. The major difference is the pace of disease. Limited scleroderma patients often have a long history of Raynaud's phenomenon before other symptoms. They have skin thickening limited to hands and frequently have problems with digital ulcers and esophageal dysmotility. Although generally a milder form than diffuse scleroderma, they can have life-threatening complications from small intestine hypomotility and pulmonary hypertension. Diffuse scleroderma patients have a much more acute onset, with many constitutional symptoms, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and marked swelling of hands and legs. They get widespread skin thickening, progressing from their fingers to their trunk. Internal organ problems, including gastrointestinal and pulmonary fibrosis, are common, but severe life-threatening involvement of the heart and kidneys occurs. Understanding the type of disease that occurs in these two subsets will enable the physician to anticipate problems, aggressively treat those that can be treated, and give the patient a better understanding of their disease.

Endothelin may be pathogenic in systemic sclerosis of the heart

We evaluated 30 consecutive patients and 48 age- and sex-matched controls to explore the possibility of a pathogenic contribution by plasma endothelin-1 in the cardiac expression of systemic sclerosis. Venous plasma endothelin-1 was measured by radio-immunoassay and left ventricular function by echocardiography. The patient group had elevated plasma endothelin-1 (2.6 +/- 0.2 vs. 1.8 +/- 0.1 pmol/1, P < 0.001), but endothelin-1 was not related to age, heart rate, blood pressure, total peripheral resistance, disease duration or systemic sclerosis score. Endothelin-1 was related to left ventricular hypertrophy in terms of septal thickness (r = 0.33, P < 0.01) and left ventricular mass index (r = 0.32, P < 0.01). Plasma endothelin-1 was further related to measures indicating reduced left ventricular filling; left atrial emptying index (r = -0.50, P < 0.0005), the first third filling fraction (r = -0.31, P < 0.05) and the time velocity integral of Doppler early/late filling velocity (r = -0.40, P < 0.001). Furthermore, circulating endothelin-1 was related to impaired left ventricular contractility as estimated by pre-ejection period/left ventricular ejection time (r = 0.32, P < 0.01) and end-systolic wall stress/volume index (r = -0.30, P < 0.05). We conclude that plasma endothelin-1 is elevated in relation to the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction and impaired contractility in systemic sclerosis. It may be of pathogenic importance to the cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis which is not mediated via an increase in systemic blood pressure. It is not yet clear whether our findings are exclusive to systemic sclerosis patients or represent a generalized phenomenon in patients with impaired left ventricular function.

Scleroderma and related conditions

Systemic sclerosis is a generalized disorder characterized by fibrosis and microvascular injury in affected organs. Despite being recognized nearly 250 years ago, knowledge regarding pathogenesis remains limited, and treatment remains directed at symptomatic improvement. Early recognition of systemic sclerosis, however, is important in order to monitor for specific disease complications (i.e., fibrosing alveolitis, scleroderma renal crisis) as well as initiate manifestation specific therapies that improve quality of life.

Cardiac involvement in scleroderma

In summary, cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis can be manifested as myocardial disease, pericardial disease, conduction system disease, or arrhythmias. Clinical cardiac involvement is a poor prognostic factor. Asymptomatic cardiac abnormalities are frequent, and all cardiac abnormalities are seen more often in diffuse scleroderma. Unlike other organs, the role of vascular involvement is unclear. At present, treatment of cardiac scleroderma is essentially symptomatic and empiric. The role of vasodilation and immunosuppression needs further exploration.

Scleroderma in children

Childhood scleroderma may present in a variety of clinical forms that differ in clinical presentation, extracutaneous features, clinical course, and outcome. All include hardening of the skin as a major feature. This article reviews these various entities, focusing on primarily the clinical features. In addition, current concepts regarding pathogenesis and treatment are discussed.

The arteritides

This article reviews the histopathological, clinical and immunological features of the arteritides. Based on these criteria, a classification scheme is proposed that includes infectious and non-infectious causes. Included in the non-infectious arteritides are: hypersensitivity vasculitis including serum sickness. Henoch-Schönlein purpura, mixed cryoglobulinaemia, hypocomplementaemia, drug and malignancy-associated vasculitis; arteritides of small and medium-sized arteries including polyarteritis nodosa, Kawasaki's disease, Wegener's granulomatosis, Churg-Strauss syndrome, necrotizing sarcoid granulomatosis, thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger's disease) and localized forms of arteritis; arteritides involving large, medium and small-sized arteries which includes giant cell (temporal) arteritis, Takayasu's disease and arteritis of collagen-vascular disease (rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, Behçet's disease, Sjörgren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosis and systemic sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis affects the connective tissue of various organs. It is characterized by alteration of the microvasculature with a dense inflammatory cellular infiltrate, followed by massive deposition of collagen. This review discusses diagnostic criteria, clinical subsets, survival data, clinical evaluation, epidemiology, pathogenesis, immunobiology, genetics, and therapy for systemic sclerosis in adults. Because the diagnosis of systemic sclerosis is most dependent on its cutaneous involvement, knowledge of this is essential in the evaluation and management of patients with this disorder.

Systemic sclerosis sine scleroderma presenting with vitiligo-like depigmentation and interstitial pulmonary fibrosis

We report a case of systemic sclerosis sine scleroderma in which vitiligo-like depigmentation and early interstitial pulmonary fibrosis predominated. The pigmentary changes occurring in systemic sclerosis are reviewed and the distinctive features of the case discussed.

A case of overlap syndrome of systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis with right ventricular dysplasia

We report a 39-year-old woman with overlap syndrome of systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis who died of congestive heart failure. The pathologic findings of the heart included contraction band necrosis and myocardial fibrosis. Unique was the finding of remarkable replacement of the right ventricle with fatty tissue.

Eosinophil activation in systemic sclerosis

Circulating levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) were increased 4-fold in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) compared with those in healthy control subjects. There was no correlation between the ECP concentrations and laboratory indices of inflammatory activity or visceral involvement. Mean ECP levels were higher in patients with a history of occupational exposure to silica, even though patients who had no such history also had ECP levels higher than normal. The patients had increased bronchoalveolar levels of ECP, which correlated with impaired lung functioning. Skin infiltration with activated eosinophils and extracellular deposits of ECP were present in skin biopsy samples from the SSc patients. We conclude that eosinophil activation is part of the inflammatory process in SSc.

Heart disease in systemic sclerosis

Primary cardiovascular manifestations of SSc include pericardial disease, myocardial disease, conduction abnormalities, and cardiac arrhythmias. Significant cardiac abnormalities are present in more than half of SSc patients at autopsy. As the frequency of subclinical cardiac involvement is now appreciated and noninvasive cardiac diagnostic modalities continue to improve, the ability to detect early asymptomatic involvement in SSc has improved. Two-dimensional echocardiography, radionucleotide imaging, and ambulatory ECG allow recurrent serial testing with virtually no morbidity. The current treatment of cardiac involvement in SSc is emperic and primarily directed at symptomatology. Large prospective randomized trials are needed to determine if preventive therapy is effective. With the advent of new immunological and cardiotropic agents and a better understanding of the primary disease process, our ability to alter the pathogenesis and final outcome of cardiac involvement in SSc should improve.

Prognostic importance of cardiac arrhythmias in systemic sclerosis

Ambulatory electrocardiography was performed in 183 patients with systemic sclerosis recruited from five centers who were selected to reflect a balanced population with respect to disease extent and duration. Ventricular ectopy occurred in 67 percent of patients and was strongly correlated by both univariate and multivariate analyses with total mortality and with sudden death. By multivariate analysis, ventricular ectopy was strongly associated with increasing patient age and with other evidence of cardiac and pulmonary involvement but not with clinical and laboratory measures of duration and extent of systemic sclerosis. Evidence of myocardial fibrosis thought to be secondary to microvascular alteration is common in systemic sclerosis, but the clinical implications of myocardial involvement are less well appreciated. The present data suggest the need for ambulatory electrocardiography in the clinical assessment of selected patients with systemic sclerosis, especially those with cardiac or pulmonary involvement, as well as for studies of the effects of antiarrhythmic therapy.