Left ventricular function in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and Reiter's disease.

We have studied left ventricular function by non-invasive methods in 28 patients with ankylosing spondylitis and 14 with Reiter's disease and compared them with 42 normal subjects. A dilated and poorly contracting left ventricle with abnormal systolic time intervals were found in five (18%) of those with ankylosing spondylitis and two (14%) with Reiter's disease. Our results suggest that the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in these diseases may be due to abnormality of the myocardium in the absence of valve disease.