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INNOSC Theranostics and Pharmacological Sciences 2023 Vol. 6 (No. 1) pp: 22-27

INNOSC Theranostics and Pharmacological Sciences

Journal homepage: https://accscience.com/journal/ITPS

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Cardiovascular Evaluation in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis in

the Turkish Population

Tarik Kivrak *, Mehdi Karasu , Ozkan Karaca , Suleyman Serdar Koca 2
1
1
1
1 Department of Cardiology, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
2 Department of Rheumatology, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
*Corresponding Author: Tarik Kivrak, Email: tarikkivrak@gmail.com
Received: January 31, 2023; Accepted: March 21, 2023; Published: April 5, 2023 DOI: 10.36922/itps.348
Copyright: Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International
4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original
work is properly cited.

Abstract:

Cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) can lead to high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment
are required. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic features of SSc, evaluate the
proportion of patients with cardiovascular disease, and compare them with other population-based studies in the Turkish population.
This study included 150 patients who were previously diagnosed and treated in the rheumatology clinic. Their age, sex, clinical
signs and symptoms, laboratory and echocardiography findings, and concomitant diseases were evaluated. The results showed
that the disease duration was <1 year and, at most, 11 years, with only one patient having elevated pulmonary artery pressure. In
addition, patients with SSc in our region had similar demographic, clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic features with those
in other countries. This study demonstrated that hypertension is positively correlated with disease duration and the incidence of
pulmonary hypertension is very low in patients with SSc.
Keywords: Systemic sclerosis, Cardiovascular disease, Scleroderma, Pulmonary hypertension, Hypertension

1. Introduction between ages 30 and 55. Although it is accompanied
by severe complications, it has a low incidence.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic multisystemic The exact prevalence of SSc in Turkey is
autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized unknown. In view of regional differences across
by fibrosis, vasculopathy, and extracellular matrix the world, it is essential to evaluate patients
synthesis and accumulation in the skin and internal with SSc in different regions. Differences in
organs. Among its clinical manifestations, skin incidence are due to the diversity of genetic and
hardening and thickening are the most crucial ethnic composition, climatic conditions, and
determinants of skin fibrosis. This chronic environmental exposures [2].
multisystemic disease is characterized by changes The presentation of SSc is complex and varies
in the skin, circulatory system, synovium, and to a certain extent. Therefore, the classification
musculoskeletal system due to connective tissue criteria for SSc, published by the American College
accumulation and fibrosis in the internal organs, of Rheumatology (ACR) in 1980, have rendered
especially the gastrointestinal system, heart, lungs, a more straightforward approach to the diagnosis
and kidneys [1]. SSc is generally seen in women and treatment of the disease [3,4]. By focusing

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