Lupus Patients at Higher Risk for Heart Failure Save

Although cardiovascular disease and complications have been well-described in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the association between SLE and heart failure (HF) remains undefined.

The journal Heart has reported the results of retrospective cohort analysis using aggregated electronic medical record data from 26 major integrated healthcare systems across the U.S. to analyze the risk of HF in patients with SLE.

From a database of over 45 million patients they found 95400 (0.21%) with SLE and 98,900 (0.22%) with a new diagnosis of HF between May 2015 and April 2016.

HF incidence was 4.6-fold more frequent in the SLE group compared with controls (0.97% vs 0.22%, relative risk (RR): 4.6 (95% CI 4.3 to 4.9)), as were other cardiovascular risk factors.

SLE was found to be an independent predictor of HF (adjusted OR: 3.17), p<0.0001).

The risk of HF was highest in young SLE males or those with renal involvement from SLE.

SLE have significantly higher risk of developing HF and a worse cardiovascular risk profile compared with the general population.