Figure 1From: Ischemic arterial events and atherosclerosis in patients with systemic sclerosis: a population-based case-control studyIschemic arterial events in ACA+ and ACA-patients and in controls. Bar graph describing the frequency of ischemic arterial events in systemic sclerosis patients with (+) or without (-) anticentromere antibodies (ACA) and in comparable controls. Ischemic arterial events are defined as: Ischemic heart disease (IHD): myocardial infarction (confirmed by electrocardiography and a reversible rise in plasma creatine kinase, muscle and brain fraction (CK-MB) or troponin T) or angina pectoris (confirmed by exercise stress test). Ischemic cerebrovascular disease (ICVD): cerebral infarction (confirmed by computed tomography) or transitory ischemic attacks (TIA, defined as transient focal symptoms from the brain or retina with a maximum duration of 24 hours). Ischemic peripheral vascular disease (IPVD): intermittent claudication + ABI <0.9 or peripheral arterial thrombosis/embolus (confirmed by angiogram or Doppler flow studies). P values between ACA+ versus ACA- are adjusted for age, gender and disease duration and P values for ACA+ versus controls are adjusted for age and gender.Back to article page