Coronary angiographic findings in asymptomatic systemic sclerosis

The objective of this study was to assess coronary arterial involvement in asymptomatic systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. Fourteen female patients with SSc (five limited and nine diffuse) were recruited for this study. All patients fulfilled the following 1980 American College of Rheumatology criteria for classification of SSc [Masi AT, Rodnan GP, Medsger TA Jr, Altman RD, D'Angelo WA, Fries JF et al (1980) Subcommittee for Scleroderma Criteria of the American Rheumatism Association Diagnostic and Therapeutic Criteria Committee: preliminary criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). Arthritis Rheum 23:581-590]. None of them had chest pain nor electrocardiogram (ECG) changes suggestive of myocardial ischemia. All patients underwent thorough history taking, full clinical examination, routine laboratory investigations, and basic screening for conventional atherosclerotic disease risk factors. ECG and coronary catheterization were done for all patients. We detected 19 coronary angiographic abnormalities in our cohort. Three out of nine diffuse SSc patients (33.33%) had ectasia of the coronary arteries, and all of them had slow flow but none in the limited type. One patient with limited SSc showed spasm. Three out of five patients with limited type (60%) had stenosis, one of them had uncontrolled hypertension, while none of the diffuse type had. Five patients (55.55%) of the diffuse type had tortuosity, while it was found in only two patients (40%) of the limited type.. Three patients (33.3%) of the diffuse type had calcification of the coronaries, while it was seen in two patients (40%) of the limited type. Pathological involvement of coronary arteries in asymptomatic SSc patients is not uncommon but not paralleled by clinical symptomatology.