Clinical & Experimental Cardiology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9880
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2155-9880
+44 1300 500008
Sang Yeob Yim, Eun Hui Bae, Kyung Do Han, Jin Huyng Jeong, Hong Sang Choi, Ha Yeon Kim, Chnag Seong Kim, Seong Kwon Ma and Soo Wan Kim
Korea University Ansan Hospital, Republic of South Korea
Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of South Korea
The Catholic University of Korea, Republic of South Korea
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Clin Exp Cardiolog
Background: Cardiac involvement is present in more than half of the patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, large scale studies on the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in this disease do not exist. Aim: We aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical significance of cardiovascular disease(CVD) in SLE patients. Methodology: SLE patients (n=21,143; mean age, 14.8±13.13 years; female, 90.38%) without previous CVD were selected from the Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort database between 2008 and 2014 respectively. Ageand sex-matched controls (n=105,715) were randomly sampled in a 5:1 ratio from non-SLE individuals. Both cohorts were followed up for incident CVD and death until 2015. Results: During 8 years of follow-up, atrial fibrillation was newly detected in 481 (2.27%) SLE patients and 619 (0.59%) controls (incidence: 3.692 and 0.941 per 1000 person-years respectively). SLE patients were at higher risk for atrial fibrillation development compared to controls (hazard ratio, 3.926; 95% confidence interval, 3.484-4.422) after multivariate adjustment. On subgroup analysis, SLE increased the risk for atrial fibrillation, especially in younger (age younger than 40 years) female without comorbidities. Conclusions: SLE was an independent risk factor for CVD development in patients without previous CVD, especially in younger female, stressing the importance of cardiac assessment in SLE patients.