Echocardiography for rheumatologists: focus on autoimmune diseases
Musculoskeletal ultrasound has become one of the major diagnostic tools in rheumatology for joint examination. Since the inflammatory rheumatic diseases frequently involve all the body systems including the heart, echocardiography plays an important role in the management of rheumatic diseases. Pericardial effusion, pericarditis, infective and non-infective endocarditis (Libman-Sacks), valvular involvement with stenosis and regurgitation, aortic root dilatation, dilated left and right ventricle, and pulmonary arterial hypertension can be routinely checked by a rheumatologist. The article focuses on introduction of basic principles of echocardiography necessary for an internist-rheumatologist in diagnosis and management of autoimmune systemic rheumatic diseases. S t r e s z c z e n i e