Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Joint Bone Spine, cilt.75, sa.3, ss.280-285, 2008 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Introduction: To evaluate aortic wall stiffness and its relation between the aortic stiffness and the left ventricular function in patients with Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF). Methods: The study population was composed of 31 patients with FMF in attack-free period (12 men, 19 women; mean age: 36 ± 7 years) and 27 healthy subjects (10 men, 17 women; mean age: 34 ± 7 years) who had volunteered to participate. Aortic stiffness indices, aortic strain and distensibility, were calculated from the aortic diameters measured by echocardiography and blood pressure obtained by sphygmomanometry. Results: There were significant differences between the control and the patient group in aortic strain (mean (SD), 7.23 ± 2.14 versus 4.91 ± 1.66%, p = 0.01) and distensibility (4.02 ± 1.42 versus 2.84 ± 1.46, 10-6 cm2 dyn-1, p = 0.001). Although there was no correlation between the aortic stiffness parameters and the left ventricular function parameters, there were significant negative correlations between the disease duration and aortic strain index (r = -0.29, p < 0.001), and between the disease duration and distensibility (r = -0.32, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Aortic stiffness measurements were found abnormal in patients with FMF. We have also demonstrated that there were significant correlations between aortic stiffness parameters and disease duration. © 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.