WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Noor Rahman Allawi, Affan Ezzat Hasan and Ali Hussein Al-Hafid

ABSTRACT

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic inflammatory disease that affects primarily joints in addition to multiple organ systems, including the cardiovascular system. Patients and method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who attended the rheumatology outpatient clinic in Baghdad teaching hospital between October 2023 and October 2024. Echocardiographic examinations were performed for each patient. Results: 50 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled in the study. Men constituted 38% (n=19) of the sample, while females showed predominance (62%). The mean period since diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis was 33.59 months, with a range between 1 month and 69 months. Mean age (higher in patients with rheumatoid arthritis for ≥ 60; 44.6 years vs 34.64 years, P-value less than 0.0001), gender proportions (females were 19 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis for ≥ 60 vs 12 for those with disease duration of < 60 months, P-value less than 0.04), and mean systolic blood pressure (lower in patients with rheumatoid arthritis for ≥ 60 months; 118.24 mm Hg vs 124 mm Hg, P-value less than 0.0016) were significantly different between patients with rheumatoid arthritis ≥ 60 months and those with disease duration of < 60 months. Diastolic dysfunction was significantly higher in those with longer disease duration. Conclusion: In the rheumatoid arthritis population, diastolic dysfunction is frequently encountered, and its prevalence is positively correlated with disease duration.