Cardiac involvement in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Abstract

An insidious progression of cardiovascular (CV) involvement is generally associated with rheumatologic diseases and finally regarded as a major source of morbidity and mortality in Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients. JIA could involve all of the cardiac structures, including pericardium, myocardium, endocardium; coronary vessels; valves and conduction system. Development of pericarditis, myocarditis, endocarditis and ventricular dysfunction are not unexpected issues in the progress of JIA. It is essential to ensure a comprehensive follow-up with advanced and up-to-date diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for prevention of CV complications in JIA patients. Since these are all associated with an unfavorable prognosis, it is necessary to detect subclinical cardiac involvement in CV asymptomatic patients, in order to start adequate management and treatment. Furthermore, controlling chronic inflammatory state of JIA by new treatment modalities will also significantly reduce the overall morbidity and mortality related to CV diseases. In this review, we aimed to investigate CV involvement patterns in patients with JIA.