BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to assess the overall  prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in connective tissue disease patients, few studies in South India have focused on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with connective tissue diseases.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The present study was conducted between August 2015 and September 2016, among the patient attending  cardiology out–Patient in Institute of cardiology, in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai, Tamilnadu , India, a total of 105 patients with various connective tissue disease were included in this study.

Results

Patients with connective tissue disease in our study , had mean age of 20–60 years , Pulmonary hypertension was seen in 30–50 age group,mostly female gender.

Among  105 patients ,Rheumatoid arthritis was on top with more than 50% of the cases, followed by SLE(20%),then systemic sclerosis(14%),remaining were few cases of Sjogren syndrome(1.9%), Ankylosing spondylitis(1.9%),Mixed connective tissue disease(5%) and Psoriatic arthritis(0.9%).Totally 15% of the case had Pulmonary hypertension.

Conclusions

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is common in connective tissue disease and is associated with  high morbidity and mortality, there is paucity of data regarding Pulmonary hypertension from South India.Early Screening echocardiography may be recommended on presentation, during recurrence and in patients with even mild symptoms.