Cardiac and Pulmonary Assessment in Egyptian Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Their Correlation With Disease Activity

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with systemic manifestations targeting primarily synovial joints and periarticular tissues, with a 1-3% prevalence, it is the most prevalent form of inflammatory arthritis.(1,2) Although synovitis is the pathological hallmark of RA, numerous extra-articular symptoms and comorbidities are probably present.(3) Cardiovascular and pulmonary system diseases are the two main causes of death in RA patients, and their symptoms are the most serious.(2,3) Patients with RA have a 50% greater risk of CV mortality and a two-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction, which is the most common cause of death in this population. (4) Echocardiographic examination is considered a good predictive tool for some cardiac conditions with early findings while no clinical signs is yet found on these patients. (5) The second major cause of death in patients with RA is respiratory disease, which occurs in 30-40% of patients.(6) Sometimes the disease is silent until it has lung complications, which come before joint problems. RA may affect the lung interstitium, airways, and pleurae, while pulmonary vascular involvement is less frequent.(7) Diaphragmatic ultrasound can be used to determine the prevalence of interstitial lung disease involvement in RA as a restrictive disorder. The association between pulmonary function tests (PFTs), potential risk factors, and clinical correlation must be calculated.(8)(9) Anterior chest wall (ACW ) joints undergo joint changes and can be involved along the course of RA yet seems to be underestimated(1) Ultrasonography of ACW can detect those changes even before being clinically evident (10)