Journal of the American Heart Association
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Background Cardiovascular involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) comprises a wide range of manifestations with prevalence and incidence that remain uncertain. Methods and Results In the Danish administrative registries between 1995 and 2015, all patients aged ≥18 years with a first diagnosis of SSc were matched by age and sex with controls (1:5) from the general population. Prevalence of cardiovascular diseases at the time of the SSc diagnosis and incidence during follow-up were assessed by in- and outpatient discharge diagnoses. ⋯ SSc was associated with an increased relative risk of developing most cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction (HR: 2.08; 95% CI, 1.65-2.64), peripheral vascular disease (HR: 5.73; 95% CI, 4.63-7.09), pulmonary hypertension (HR: 21.18; 95% CI, 14.73-30.45), mitral regurgitation (HR: 4.60; 95% CI, 3.12-6.79), aortic regurgitation (HR: 3.78; 95% CI, 2.55-5.58), aortic stenosis (HR: 2.99; 95% CI, 2.25-3.97), pericarditis (HR: 8.78; 95% CI, 4.84-15.93), heart failure (HR: 2.86; 95% CI, 2.43-3.37), atrial fibrillation (HR: 1.75; 95% CI, 1.51-2.04), and venous thromboembolism (HR: 2.10; 95% CI, 1.65-2.67). Additional adjustment for medications and comorbidities yielded results similar to the main analyses. Conclusions In this nationwide study, SSc was associated with greater risks of distinct cardiovascular diseases for patients than for matched controls, suggesting a significant disease-related adverse impact across the vascular bed and specific cardiac structures.