Enhanced ventricular‐arterial coupling during a 2‐year physical activity programme in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective substudy of the physical activity in rheumatoid arthritis 2010 trial

• Published in: Journal of internal medicine 2018-12, Vol.284 (6), p.664-673
• Main Authors: Sarajlic, P., Fridén, C., Lund, L. H., Manouras, A., Venkateshvaran, A., Larsson, S. C., Nordgren, B., Opava, C. H., Lundberg, I. E., Bäck, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerobic capacity; Arthritis; augmentation index; Blood pressure; Cardiovascular diseases; Coronary artery disease; Coupling; echocardiography; Exercise; Health risk assessment; Heart diseases; inflammation; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Muscle strength; Optimization; Parameters; Patients; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Physical training; pulse wave velocity; Rheumatoid arthritis; Stiffness; Ventricle; Wave velocity
• ISSN: 0954-6820; 1365-2796; 1365-2796
• DOI: 10.1111/joim.12715

Objective To establish how guided physical activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) without known cardiovascular disease affected vascular and cardiac function, and how these two entities were prospectively interconnected in this patient group. Methods Prospective substudy of 29 participants in the Physical Activity in RA (PARA) 2010 trial. All subjects were examined at baseline, at year 1 and 2 with measures of pulse wave velocity and arterial augmentation index, as well as echocardiographic evaluation of diastolic parameters and ventricular‐arterial coupling. Muscle strength and aerobic exercise capacity were assessed at baseline and yearly. All participants performed physiotherapist‐guided aerobic and muscle strength exercise during 2 years and were reminded through SMS to report physical activity progress. Results This cohort of patients with RA exhibited increased vascular stiffness despite normal blood pressure. At baseline, lower muscle strength was associated with increased vascular stiffness (β = 0.68; P = 0.004), whereas lower aerobic working capacity was associated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (β = 0.85; P = 0.03). There was a significant positive correlation between vascular stiffness and diastolic dysfunction at baseline (R2 = 0.64) and for the changes in those parameters observed during 2 years of guided physical activity. Finally, a significant improvement in ventricular‐arterial coupling was observed after exercise (P