Patients with ankylosing spondylitis have lower left ventricular systolic myocardial function, as determined by global longitudinal strain, independent of cardiovascular risk factors, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

“Cardiovascular (CV) factors like hypertension, diabetes and metabolic syndrome are prevalent in AS patients, and have been suggested to largely explain the increased risk of CV disease in AS patients,” Helga Midtbø MD, PhD, of Haukeland University Hospital in Norway, and colleagues wrote. “However, it is well known that presence of subclinical cardiac dysfunction like left ventricular myocardial dysfunction measured by global longitudinal strain, predicts increased CV risk independent of risk factors in unselected cardiac populations.