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Serum markers in systemic sclerosis with cardiac involvement

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Abstract

Cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis is a common clinical entity that may range from subclinical to life-threatening complications. The classification of cardiac involvement may be expressed as either primary or secondary involvement. Primary systemic sclerosis heart involvement (SSc-pHI) refers to cardiac pathologies primarily ascribed to systemic sclerosis rather than concomitant conditions like ischemic heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. The timely recognition of cardiac involvement holds significant clinical relevance. Therefore, numerous screening or diagnostic tools have been evaluated to forecast the likelihood of cardiac involvement, particularly in the absence of clinically evident cardiac symptoms. Of these modalities, serum biomarkers are often preferred due to their expeditiousness and non-invasive nature. Hence, the crucial goal of this narrative review is to review serum biomarkers that can be a valuable or promising tool in diagnosing cardiac involvement, especially SSc-pHI, in the early stages or predicting disease prognosis.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Mr. Jeremy Jones, of the Kocaeli University Academic Writing Department, for the revisions of the English in this paper.

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  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, İzmit, Kocaeli, Turkey

    Neslihan Gokcen

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Gokcen, N. Serum markers in systemic sclerosis with cardiac involvement. Clin Rheumatol 42, 2577–2588 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-023-06663-z

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