Myocardial fibrosis detected by magnetic resonance imaging, elevated U-CRP and higher mRSS are predictors of cardiovascular complications in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients

In previous studies we showed that prevalence of myocardial fibrosis as assessed by late enhancement on cardiac MRI in SSc patients is 45% and is associated to diffuse disease (dcSSc) and lower left ventricle ejection fraction; microvascular damage defined as decreased perfusion on cardiac MRI after adenosine infusion, was also very frequent (79%). Our aim was to identify baseline characteristics associated to the development of cardiovascular...