TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Connective Tissue Diseases & the Heart A1 - Roldan, Carlos A. A2 - Crawford, Michael H. PY - 2017 T2 - CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Cardiology, 5e AB - The connective tissue diseases are immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, primarily of the musculoskeletal system; however, they frequently also involve the cardiovascular system. The most important of these diseases are systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, ankylosing spondylitis, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, and mixed connective tissue disease. They affect the valve leaflets, coronary arteries, pericardium, myocardium, conduction system, and great vessels with different rates of prevalence and degrees of severity. Although heart involvement in patients with connective tissue diseases contributes significantly to their morbidity and mortality rates, there is a large discrepancy between clinically recognized heart disease, echocardiography studies, and postmortem series. Furthermore, their pathogenesis and natural history are still incompletely understood, and their therapy is not yet standardized. Increased awareness and better understanding of the cardiovascular diseases associated with connective tissue diseases may lead to earlier recognition and treatment with consequent decreased morbidity and mortality. Finally and of importance, patients with connective tissue diseases and associated heart disease should be managed by both cardiologists and rheumatologists given the potential morbidity and mortality of their heart disease and the complexity and potential harm of their pharmacotherapy. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/10/11 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1139748186 ER -