Borowiec A, Dabrowski R, Wozniak J et al.
Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland.
Scand J Rheumatol 2012;41:33–8.
Editor’s note: Cardiac involvement in juvenile scleroderma, although rare, is associated with mortality and morbidity. In the current study, the authors evaluated the cardiovascular system non-invasively in young adults with juvenile-onset localized scleroderma (JLS) and juvenile systemic sclerosis (JSSc) by prospectively following 34 consecutive children and 20 healthy control subjects. Each subject underwent 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, 24 h ECG-Holter, and 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring at baseline visit and 10 years later. No patient received any medication that could affect recording. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentrations were measured after 10 years.