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Early Detection of Aortic Dilatation in Ankylosing Spondylitis using Echocardiography
Author(s) -
Thomas D.,
Hill W.,
Geddes R.,
Sheppard M.,
Arnold J.,
Fritzsche J.,
Brooks P. M.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0004-8291
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1982.tb02416.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ankylosing spondylitis , cardiology , stenosis , aortic valve
:Early detection of aortic dilatation in ankylosing spondylitis using echocardiography. D. Thomas, W. Hill, R. Geddes, M. Sheppard, J. Arnold, J. Fritzsche and P. M. Brooks, Aust. N.Z. J. Med., 1982, 12, pp. 10–13. Aortic root abnormalities including cusp thickening, subvalvular stenosis, and mild aortic root dilatation are the most common cardiac complications in patients with long standing ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Twenty‐three patients with definite idiopathic AS (New York Criteria 1966) and twenty‐two matched controls were studied with M‐mode echocardiography. Only one of the AS patients had clinical aortic incompetence. Six of the AS patients had mildly dilated aortic roots (normal <3–7 cm) with a mean diameter of 3–9 cm (range 3 8 to 4‐ 00 cm). None of the twenty‐two controls matched for age, sex and blood pressure had dilated aortic roots, with a mean diameter of 3‐3 cm (range 2–9 to 3–6 cm). No correlation existed between aortic dilatation and severity of disease estimated by acute phase proteins– caerulo plasmin, alpha 1‐antitrypsin, alpha 1 acid glycoprotein, ferritin and C Reactive protein. Contrary to a previous report, mild aortic root dilatation occurs in long standing cases of AS. Although it is a non‐specific finding, it does not appear to be related to age or blood pressure and may therefore be the forerunner of aortic incompetence.