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Original article
Incidence and risk of heart failure in systemic lupus erythematosus
  1. Chang H Kim1,2,
  2. Sadeer G Al-Kindi1,2,
  3. Bochra Jandali1,2,
  4. Ali D Askari1,2,3,
  5. Michael Zacharias1,2,4,
  6. Guilherme H Oliveira1,2,4
  1. 1Department of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  2. 2School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  3. 3Division of Rheumatic Diseases, Department of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  4. 4Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Guilherme H Oliveira, Department of Medicine, Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, 11100 Euclid Ave. Lakeside 3012. Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; guilherme.oliveira{at}uhhospitals.org

Abstract

Background Although case series suggest a higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared with the general population, the association between SLE and heart failure (HF) remains undefined. We sought to investigate the incidence and risk of HF in patients with SLE.

Methods In April 2016, we performed a retrospective cohort analysis using the Explorys platform, which provides aggregated electronic medical record data from 26 major integrated healthcare systems across the USA from 1999 to present. Demographic and regression analyses were performed to assess the impact of SLE on HF incidence.

Results Among 45 284 540 individuals in the database, we identified 95 400 (0.21%) with SLE and 98 900 (0.22%) with a new diagnosis of HF between May 2015 and April 2016. HF incidence was markedly higher 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. In regression analysis, SLE was an independent predictor of HF (adjusted OR: 3.17 (2.63 to 3.83), p<0.0001). RR of HF was highest in young males with SLE (65.2 (35.3 to 120.5) for age 20–24), with an overall trend of increasing absolute risk but decreasing RR with advancing age in both sexes. Renal involvement in SLE correlated with earlier and higher incidence of HF.

Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that patients with SLE have significantly higher risk of developing HF and a worse cardiovascular risk profile compared with the general population. These results need to be confirmed by prospective studies.

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Footnotes

  • Contributors CHK: design of study, data collection, analysis and drafting of manuscript. SGA-K: data analysis and manuscript revision. BJ, ADA and MZ: manuscript revision and guideline review. GHO: supervisor of study and manuscript revision. The authors confirm that the manuscript is an honest, accurate and transparent account of the reported study.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.