CASE REPORTS RHEUMATOID AORTITIS: REPORT OF AN UNUSUAL CASE*

W I T H I N recent years there has been increasing evidence that rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease with widespread visceral manifestations. Much interest has been focused on the cardiovascular changes occurring in patients who exhibit spondylitis and the articular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis.1-12 The cardiac pathology that occurred in many cases of rheumatoid arthritis manifested itself as a pancarditis, and because the valvular endocarditis often simulated that seen as a sequel of rheumatic fever, the changes were originally interpreted as rheumatic in origin.1 '6 '10 '11 On this basis it was concluded that rheumatic heart disease was more common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis than in the general population. In several series of patients with rheumatoid arthritis the incidence of so-called rheumatic heart disease has varied from 15 to 56%, which suggested to several authors that the two diseases were related in some way.1 ' 6 » 9»10'X1 Of late, however, there has been increasing evidence that rheumatoid carditis and rheumatic carditis are different entities.12 We have had the opportunity of studying a patient in whom the diagnosis o