Higher Cardiovascular Risks with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Save

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology has published the results of a study showing that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of heart failure (HF) and other long-term cardiovascular outcomes. 

Data taken from Danish administrative registries, compared CV outcomes between SLE patients (1996 to 2018 without baseline CV disease) and age-, sex-, and comorbidity-matched community control subjects.  A total of 3,411 SLE patients (median age: 44.6 years) was compared with 13,644 control subjects.

After a median follow-up of 8.5 years, Lupus patients had a 50% to 300% increased 10-year risks of the following (compared with controls):

• Heart failure, 3.71% SLE vs 1.94% controls
• Atrial fibrillation, 4.35% SLE vs. 2.82% controls
• Ischemic stroke, 3.75% SLE vs. 1.92% controls
• Myocardial infarction, 2.17% SLE vs. 1.49% controls
• Venous thromboembolism, 6.03% SLE vs. 1.68% controls
• Risk of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation/ventricular arrhythmias/cardiac arrest, 0.89% SLE vs 0.30%

Lupus patients who developed HF, had a 50% higher mortality than did HF patients without SLE.