Heliyon (May 2023)

Cardiac involved and autopsy in two patients with systemic sclerosis: Two cases report

  • Hang Yu,
  • Qinwen Wen,
  • Xiaolu Zhang,
  • Hanqing Zhang,
  • Xiudi Wu

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 5
p. e15555

Abstract

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Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease with high mortality. One of the most common causes of death in potential SSc patients is cardiac arrest. However, the pathogenesis of cardiac death is not very clear. As far as we know, there are few autopsy reports on this subject. Our autopsy report on two fatal cases of heart injury in SSc patients revealed evidence of myocarditis, focal myocardial necrosis, and myocardial fibrosis. Our findings suggest that chronic inflammation of the heart may lead to extensive fibrosis, which could contribute to the high mortality rate observed in SSc patients. Early detection of heart injury in SSc patients using existing technology is necessary to improve patient outcomes. Future research should focus on developing more effective methods for early detection and management of heart involvement in SSc.

Keywords