@article{article_1378484, title={Evaluation of pulmonary artery stiffness in patients with systemic sclerosis}, journal={Marmara Medical Journal}, volume={37}, pages={11–17}, year={2024}, DOI={10.5472/marumj.1378484}, author={Akaslan, Dursun and Demirci, Murat}, keywords={Pulmonary hypertension, Systemic sclerosis, Transthoracic Echocardiography, Pulmonary arterial stiffness, TAPSE/sPAP ratio}, abstract={Objective: The study aims to investigate the use of pulmonary artery stiffness (PAS) parameter in early diagnosis of systemic sclerosis
(SSc) and pulmonary hypertension in SSc patients.
Patients and Methods: The study involved 102 SSc patients and 45 control group patients, who underwent transthoracic
echocardiographic evaluations.
Results: Pulmonary artery stiffness was measured as 25.7±7.6 (Hz/msn) in the SSc cases and 13.7 ±1.6 (Hz/msn) in the healthy
subjects (P< 0.001). TAPSE/sPAP ratio, which we used as an indicator of RV-PA coupling, was calculated as 0.65+0.28 in SSc cases and
1.12+0.33 in the control group (P<0.001).
When we evaluated PAS values of subgroups PAS was significantly higher in SScPH(-) patients without pulmonary hypertension than
control subjects (respectively; 21.67 ± 3.9; 13.7 ± 1.6, P<0.001). The relationship of PAS with the parameters in which pulmonary
hypertension and right ventricular functions were evaluated, there was a positive correlation with sPAP( r: – 0.396, P <0.001), while a
negative correlation was observed with TAPSE/sPAP (r: 0.456, P<0.001).
Conclusion: We observed higher PAS values in SScPH(-) patients compared to the control group and found a positive correlation
between the increase in PAS and sPAP and a negative correlation between them and TAPSE/sPAP.}, number={1}, publisher={Marmara University}