Abstract
The aim of this study is to clarify the relationship between anticardiolipin antibody (ACLA) and cardiac disorders in collagen disease. Echocardiography and ACLA measurement (ELISA method) were performed in 125 patients with collagen disease (59 rheumatoid arthritis, 24 progressive systemic sclerosis, 23 systems lupus erythematosus and 19 others; 114 women and 11 men, fifty-four ± thirteen years old).
The echocardiographic (B-mode, M-mode, and color Doppler methods) disorders included pericardial, valvular, and myocardial lesions and findings associated with pulmonary hypertension. ACLA was judged as positive when the titer (IgG and/or M) was 1.0 unit/mL or more. The echocardiographic disorders were revealed in 65 patients (52%), and ACLA was positive in 29 patients (23%). Cardiac disorders were detected more frequently in patients with positive ACLA (72%) than in those with negative ACLA (46%). In several disorders, pericardial thickening had the most significant relationship with positive ACLA. These results suggested that positive ACLA was significantly associated with cardiac disorders, especially pericardial lesions, in collagen diseases. Hence, the evaluation of ACLA in patients with collagen diseases should be available in predicting the cardiac complications and in clarifying their mechanism.
