Elastic properties of the vascular wall in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and changes in blood pressure levels

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the elastic properties of the vascular wall in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as applied to the course of the underlying disease and the changes in blood pressure (BP) from one-year follow-up results. Subjects and methods. Therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated in 52 patients with RA according to the EULAR and ACR criteria; pulse wave propagation velocity (PWPV) along the vessels of elastic and muscular types was measured on an apparatus (OOO Neurosoft) at baseline and after one-year follow-up. Results. PWPV values were found to correlate with age, functional class of RA, risk level by the Framingham model, ventricular septal thickness, left ventricular relative wall thickness, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and the presence of C-reactive protein. After one-year follow-up, the diminished elasticity of vessels correlated with the baseline duration of morning stiffness, the number of swollen joints, and ineffective therapy for RA. The RA patients in whom BP increased to the upper normal range or who developed essential hypertension (EH) had significantly higher values of vascular wall rigidity at the beginning of the follow-up. BP elevation was also associated with age, baseline clinical activity, the systemic manifestations of RA, the cardiovascular risk by the Framingham model. There was an association of vascular elastic properties in RA patients with the magnitude and uncontrolled activity of inflammation and with elevated BP. Conclusion. The findings show it important to reduce the elastic properties of vessels in the emergence of EH in RA.