Comparison of Echocardiographic Abnormalities in Psoriasis Patients with the Control Group

Abstract

<strong>Introduction: </strong>Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by plaques covered with silvery scales. Psoriasis is highly prevalent in different countries in the world, including Iran. Several studies have reported a significant association between psoriasis and cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between psoriasis and cardiac disease using echocardiography.<br /><strong>Materials and Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study was conducted in Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran during 2013-2014 on patients with clinical diagnosis of psoriasis confirmed via biopsy. In addition, healthy volunteers homogenous in terms of age and gender were selected as the control group. Echocardiography was performed on patients and control subjects. Size of the left and right ventricles, left ventricle ejection fraction, diastolic function, and pulmonary artery pressure were recorded. In addition, patients were assessed in terms of the presence of valve regurgitation and disease severity.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> In total, 23 patients with psoriasis and 23 control subjects were enrolled in this study. Mean duration of psoriasis was 7.0±9.1 years (range: 1-25 years), and disease severity ranged between moderate and severe. Left ventricular end-diastolic and systolic diameters were significantly higher in patients with psoriasis (P=0.030 and P=0.016, respectively). Moreover, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction was observed in 14 psoriasis patients (60.8%) and 3 control subjects (13.4%) (P<0.001), all of whom were presented with grade I diastolic dysfunction. No significant difference was observed in the left atrial volume, mid-right-ventricular diameter, and pulmonary artery pressure. If present, valvular regurgitation was reported to be mild, while the prevalence of mild aortic regurgitation was significantly higher in psoriatic patients compared to control subjects (P=0.032). In addition, no statistically significant difference was observed in mitral or tricuspid valve abnormalities.<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> According to the results of this study, patients with psoriasis commonly present with echocardiographic abnormalities, even in the absence of cardiovascular symptoms.