Cardiovascular diseases in patients with systemic vasculitides
Aim. To evaluate the rate of angina, myocardial infarction, stroke and endovascular interventions in patients with sys- temic vasculitides.Material and methods. 321 patients were enrolled in ret- rospective study (Wegener's granulematosis - 138, Takayasu arteritis - 79, polyarteritis nodosum - 55, Churg-Strauss syn- drome - 49).Results. Clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis were found in 51 (15,6%) of 321 patients (angina - 7,1%, myocar- dial infarction - 3,1%, stroke - 4,6%). The development of atherosclerosis was associated with traditional risk factors mainly age and male gender. The rate of arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and increased serum creatinine in patients with cardiovascular diseases was insignificantly high- er than in patients without signs of atherosclerosis. Conclusion. Cardiovascular diseases frequently developin patients with systemic vasculitides and justify aggressivemodification of traditional risk factors.