Echocardiographic study of the cardiac involvement in rheumatoid arthritis.

Echocardiograms of high quality were obtained in 26 patients with classic or definite rheumatoid arthritis by the criteria of the American Rheumatism Association, but with no evidence of overt heart disease. The echocardiograms were analyzed for evidence of pericardial disease. The E-to-F slope was determined to assess the mitral valve, and multiple jadices of left ventricular performance were determined. Only four patients with rheumatoid arthritis (15 percent) had evidence compatible with pericardial thickening or small effusion. None had significant abnormality of the E-to-F slope; the mean values of the E-to-F slope were not different from controls (101 ± 28 vs 100 ± 22 mm/sec). The mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening (Vcf) was lower in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis as a