Objective: Cardiac manifestations are well recognized complication of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). They include aortic incompetence, conduction defects, mitral valve disease, pericarditis and cardiomyopathy. There was one study to evaluate the change of aortic elasticity in AS patient and the association between the aortic strain and duration of AS, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI). We designed this study to determine whether aortic elasticity changes in Korean AS patients and is associated with the duration of AS or BASDAI. Methods: 18 AS patients without cardiovascular involvement and 18 sex and age- matched healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. Aortic strain and distensibility was calculated from aortic diameters measured by echocardiography and blood pressure measured by sphygmomanometry. Results: The mean aortic strain and mean aortic distensibility in AS group indicated that there was not any correlation with those of control group, based on the statistical analysis. Moreover, there was no statistical correlation between the means of aortic strain, aortic distensibility and the duration or BASDAI of AS. Conclusion: In patients with AS without cardiac involvement, the aortic elasticity was not decreased than that of control group, and aortic strain and distensibility were not correlated with the duration or BASDAI of AS.

Keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis, Aortic elasticity, Aortic strain, Aortic distensibility index, Echocardiography