Comorbid cardiovascular system disorders in patients with cryoglobulinaemia

Abstract

Aim. To study a possible association between cryoglobulinemia and cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease in patients with symptomatic cryoglobulinemic vasculitis and rheumatoid arthritis patients with elevated cryoglobulins. Methods. Analysis of the coexistent cardiovascular system diseases prevalence, heart and carotid arteries echocardiography data of 32 patients with cryoglobulinemic vasculitis, and 129 patients with rheumatoid arthritis depending on the fact of high cryoglobulins titers in the blood plasma compared to 32 healthy volunteers in the control group was conducted. Cryoglobulins isolation from the blood was performed using the A.E. Kalovidoris method in N.A. Konstantinova modification. Results. In patients with cryoglobulinemic vasculitis and rheumatoid arthritis with asymptomatic cryoglobulinemia a high frequency of hypertension prevalence (46.8 and 34.4%, respectively), ischemic heart disease (15.6 and 7.9%), congestive heart failure (9.4 and 10.5%), chronic venous insufficiency (53.1 and 23.7%) and postthrombophlebetic syndrome (28.1 and 18.4%) was observed. When analyzing ultrasound data in patients with cryoglobulinemic vasculitis and rheumatoid arthritis it has been found that the cryoglobulinemia is accompanied by left ventricular myocardial geometry violation (in 81.3 and 65.7% respectively versus 12.5% of patients in the control group), myocardial diastolic dysfunction (71 9 and 65.7% versus 15.6%), an increase in the proportion of patients with the «intima-media» complex thickening (78.1 and 36.8% versus 31.2%) and atherosclerotic plaques (34.4 and 13, 2% versus 6.2%) in the carotid arteries. Conclusion. Cryoglobulinemia can be considered as adjuvant risk factor for cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatism.