Evaluation of changes in cardiac longitudinal strain rate in patients with systemic sclerosis undergoing iloprost treatment: an observational study

Objectives SSc is characterized by widespread microangiopathy and fibrosis of skin and visceral organs. Left ventricle involvement is usually subclinical, characterized by systolic and/or diastolic dysfunction. The global longitudinal strain (GLS), a validated and reliable technique for the measurement of ventricular longitudinal deformation by means of echocardiography, may detect subclinical systolic dysfunction of SSc myocardium. The improvement of myocardial perfusion by means of intravenous Iloprost administration could ameliorate the contractility of SSc heart. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate GLS in a series of SSc patients prior and after Iloprost infusion.Methods Fifteen consecutive SSc patients (age: 54 +/- 11 years; 12 females) treated with Iloprost because of the presence/history of digital ulcers underwent echocardiography, including GLS technique. This evaluation was conducted immediately before Iloprost administration and at the end of the 6-h infusion session.Results Significant improvement in the mean GLS was observed after Iloprost administration (from -13.5 +/- 2.5 to -15 +/- 3.3; P = 0.011). The echocardiographic data obtained from the four-chamber view showed the best quality for GLS analysis and showed a highly significant improvement of the strain after Iloprost administration (from -13.4 +/- 2.2 to -15.6 +/- 3; P = 0.001). The degree of GLS improvement did not correlate with any SSc parameters.Conclusion Iloprost administration improved GLS, suggesting that the increase of myocardial perfusion allowed, at least in part, a correction of left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings, further exploring the mid/long-term effects of Iloprost on myocardial contraction.Graphical abstract