Echocardiographic approach in systemic autoimmune diseases

Cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality are increased in systemic autoimmune diseases (SADs) mainly due to chronic inflammation that promotes the development of endothelial dysfunction and accelerated atherosclerosis. Therefore, it is very important to make an early diagnosis of silent CV involvement to improve prognosis of these patients. In this scenery, ultrasound techniques can be considered the best diagnostic tool to reach these objectives. Transthoracic echocardiography, with several applications (e.g. coronary flow reserve evaluation, tissue Doppler imaging, speckle tracking etc.), represents a first line evaluation. The aim of this editorial is to provide a brief but complete review of echocardiographic techniques available for screening and follow up of CV involvement in SADs.