Determining Preclinical Left Ventricular Function Impairment with Two-Dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of study was to examine subclinical left ventricular function impairment in patients with psoriasis vulgaris (PV) without any known heart diseases. Patients and Methods: In total, 45 patients (22 males and 23 females; age: 39 ± 14 years) with psoriasis vulgaris who did not have any known coronary artery disease and cardiac insufficiency and a control group consisting of 45 healthy participants whose ages and genders matched those of participants in the study group were included in our study. Left ventricular functions were longitudinally analysed with speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and with apical 4-3-2 chamber images using the current software (QLAB 6.0). Results: There were no differences between the two groups in terms of standard echocardiography and Doppler parameters. A significant decrease was observed in S' and E' parameters of patients with psoriasis vulgaris on tissue Doppler imaging from the basal septum and lateral mitral annulus. Compared with the control group, the longitudinal strain and strain speed parameters were found to decrease at a significant level in left ventricular longitudinal measurements. The global longitudinal strain (GLS) was measured as -20.8 ± 4.11% in the study group and as -22.9 ± 3.73% in the control group (p= 0.035). There was a significant negative correlation between GLS and the duration and severity of disease in the study group. Conclusion: We showed that although the standard echocardiography parameters were normal, STE and left ventricular functions of patients with PV decreased.