Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Conditions
Brief summary
To evaluate QT dispersion, P-wave dispersion and Tp-e dispersion as predictors of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and to assess their relationship with disease characteristics and inflammatory activity
Detailed description
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized primarily by persistent synovial inflammation and progressive joint destruction. In addition to musculoskeletal manifestations, patients with RA have an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality compared with the general population. Cardiac arrhythmias represent one of the important cardiovascular complications in these patients and may contribute to sudden cardiac death Electrocardiographic markers reflecting abnormalities in atrial and ventricular depolarization and repolarization have gained increasing attention as predictors of arrhythmogenic risk. QT dispersion (QTd) reflects heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization and has been associated with ventricular arrhythmias. P-wave dispersion (PWD) represents inhomogeneous atrial conduction and is considered a predictor of atrial arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation. Tp-e interval and Tp-e dispersion are relatively newer markers reflecting transmural dispersion of ventricular repolarization and have been linked to malignant ventricular arrhythmias Chronic inflammation, autonomic dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction and myocardial involvement in rheumatoid arthritis may contribute to abnormalities in these electrocardiographic parameters. Early identification of patients at higher risk of cardiac arrhythmias may improve risk stratification and allow timely intervention. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate QT dispersion, P-wave dispersion and Tp-e dispersion as predictors of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
Study design
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
* Patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis according to the 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria * Age ≥18 years * Male and female patients
Exclusion criteria
* Presence of other autoimmune diseases * Thyroid disorders * Use of medications affecting cardiac conduction or repolarization such as amiodarone and other antiarrhythmic drugs * Electrolyte disturbances including hypocalcemia, hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia * Known cardiac diseases including ischemic heart disease, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure or congenital heart disease
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| QT dispersion, P-wave dispersion and Tp-e dispersion | baseline | to assess QT dispersion , P wave dispersion and Tp-e dispersion on 12 lead ECG and compare their values between rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy controls and to evaluate their association with the risk of cardiac arrhythmia |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Correlation between ECG parameters and disease activity assessed by DAS28 | at baseline | to evaluate the correlation between QT dispersion P wave dispersion Tp-e dispersion with rheumatoid arthritis disease activity assessed by DAS28 |
Contacts
faculty of medicine , Assiut university ,Eygpt