Cardiac Involvement in Antiphospholipid Syndrome. the Diagnostic Role of Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging

The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder of acquired hypercoagulability characterized by vascular thrombosis, increased pregnancy morbidity and elevated levels of antiphospholipid antibodies. Cardiac involvement in APS may be presented as heart valve disease affecting approximately a third of patients or less frequently as intracardial thombosis, pulmonary hypertension, right or left ventricular dysfunction, microvascular thrombosis, coronary artery or micro-vascular disease with overt or silent clinical presentation.

Source: Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism - October 7, 2015 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Sophie I. Mavrogeni, Petros P. Sfikakis, George D. Kitas, Genovefa Kolovou, Maria G. Tektonidou Source Type: research