Long-term cardiac changes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study was evaluate the late-onset repercussions of heart alterations of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) after a 13-year follow up.MethodsA historical prospective study was carried out involving the analysis of data from the charts of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of lupus in follow up since 1998. The 13-year evolution was systematically reviewed and tabulated to facilitate the interpretation of the data.ResultsForty-eight patient charts were analyzed. Mean patient age was 34.5 ± 10.8 years at the time of diagnosis and 41.0 ± 10.3 years at the time of the study (45 women and 3 men). Eight deaths occurred in the follow-up period (two due to heart problems). Among the alterations found on the complementary exams, 46.2% of cases demonstrated worsening at reevaluation and four patients required a heart catheterization. In these cases, coronary angioplasty was performed due to the severity of the obstructions and one case required a further catheterization, culminating in the need for surgical myocardial revascularization.ConclusionThe analysis demonstrated progressive heart impairment, with high rates of alterations on conventional complementary exams, including the need for angioplasty or revascularization surgery in four patients. These findings indicate the need for rigorous cardiac follow up in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Left Ventricular Systolic Function in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Its Association with Cardiovascular Events

“…Previous studies have also explored the prevalence of LV systolic dysfunction in patients with SLE, and when using the reduction of systolic function in standard echocardiographic parameters such as LVEF, it varied from 16% to 45%. [24][25][26] Initial studies have also shown an impairment of LV GLS in patients with SLE. Buss et al 6 showed, in 67 young patients with SLE, significant impairment in LV GLS compared with healthy control subjects, and similar results were obtained by Huang et al 7 in 34 consecutive patients with SLE.…”

A Case of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in a Patient Presenting with Libman-Sacks Endocarditis

“…Left-sided heart valves are by far the most affected. It has previously been reported to have cardiac involvement as the main reason for presentation; however, this is extremely rare [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

“…Echocardiography is the best first modality to diagnose LSE, but transesophageal echocardiography is more sensitive and specific than transthoracic echocardiography [9,10]. Doppler echocardiography detects between 18% and 50% of valve diseases [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10], while transesophageal echocardiography detects up to 74% [9,10]. LSE on imaging is described as irregular heterogeneous echo density with the absence of independent motion of the verrucous vegetations on the cardiac valves and endocardium [9,10].…”

Cardiac autonomic modulation adjustments in isometric exercise

“…13,14 The objective of this review was to present studies that used isometric exercise protocols and analyzed the cardiac autonomic response through HRV. Heart rate response during isometric exercise has been studied to understand cardiac autonomic control, since there is interaction between the cardiovascular, autonomic and muscular systems while performing exercise.…”