Assessment of cardiac autonomic functions in patients with Behcet's disease

Behcet's disease is a chronic inflammatory and multi organ disease that deteriorates with relapses. It begin to appear most common at the 30-40s. There are cardiovascular involvement 7-29% of patients. Risk of cardiovascular mortality is increased in Behcet's disease compared to normal individuals. Ventricular arrhythmias are thought to be the cause of this risk. Another reason for ventricular arrhythmia is cardiac autonomic functions. In the present study, we investigated the cause of cardiovascular mortality in Behcet's disease whether or not associated with impaired cardiac autonomic functions.40 healthy individuals and 40 patients with Behçet's disease admitted to outpatient clinics of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Departments in Afyon Kocatepe University School of Medicine, between July-December 2011 were included in the study. 12-lead ECGs were obtained from patient and control groups after a detailed history and physical examination. Cardiac functions were evaluated by conventional, Doppler and tissue Doppler echocardiographic measurements. The ECG Holter records were obtained from each individuals for at least 24 hours.Age, gender, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rates of patient and control groups were similar. There was no significant difference between both groups' conventional, Doppler and tissue Doppler parameters of transthoracic echocardiography measurements.24-hour Holter ECG recordings of patient and control groups are compared. SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, and triangular index from HRV parameters of individuals are calculated by a automated program. No statistically significant difference was determined between the patients and control groups' HRV parameters. Again, HRT data from Holter ECG recordings are obtained. No statistically significant difference was found between TO and TS from HRT parameters of individuals.As a result, we found cardiac autonomic functions are intact in Behcet's disease. We thought cardiac autonomic functions might be initially affected subclinically because are usually diagnosed in young ages Behcet's patients. Sudden cardiac death in patients with Behçet's disease might be due to another cause.