For years now, I’ve lived with a broken heart. At times, it’s physically painful. My discomfort includes aches, sharp and stabbing pains, fluid retention, swelling in my extremities, and difficulty breathing. But living with a dysfunctional heart is nothing compared with the emotional toll my heart disease has left…

Monitoring the progression of subclinical heart disease with MRI scans suggested that abnormalities remain largely stable over time in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and such routine imaging may be of “minimal value”  to most patients, a small study reported. The study, “Subclinical Systemic Sclerosis Primary Heart Involvement by…

People with sine sclerosis — a rare form of scleroderma without skin involvement — have better survival than those with limited and diffuse scleroderma, according to a retrospective study of up to 18 years of patient data. In addition, male sex, poor lung function, heart involvement, and…

Use of vasodilators — medications that trigger the widening and relaxing of blood vessels — may help to prevent heart problems in people with systemic scleroderma, a study suggests. Low-dose aspirin was also found to offer some protection against some forms of cardiac disease, its researchers said, recommending more…

A device designed to continuously record heart rhythm showed that asymptomatic patients with scleroderma have significant arrhythmia, according to a pilot study. Findings also suggested that arrhythmia — irregular heart rhythm — is associated with fibrosis, or scarring, and the levels of cardiovascular biomarkers. The study, “…

Scleroderma or systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune disease whereby the body produces too much collagen. The symptoms a person can present are widespread and many different parts of the body can be involved. According to the Scleroderma Foundation, these are the main areas of the body affected by scleroderma.

Scleroderma or systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune disease whereby the body produces too much collagen. The symptoms a person can present are widespread and many different parts of the body can be involved. According to the Scleroderma Foundation, these are the main areas of the body affected by…

An easy-to-install heart monitor detects potentially deadly heart arrhythmias in patients with scleroderma without any known heart disease, according to a study presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016), June 8-11 in London. The study underscores the need to identify patients at risk for heart disease to offer…

Clopidogrel (Plavix) treatment may worsen blood vessel dysfunction and lead to the development of new digital ulcers in patients with scleroderma. The results of this proof-of-concept study indicated that platelet activation is not a main driver of fibrosis, also highlighting the need for caution when treating scleroderma patients who also…