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Author Topic: Heart Disease Among Women With Lupus  (Read 5813 times)
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« on: October 15, 2007, 07:42:39 am »

Heart Disease Among Women With Lupus

Women with lupus are at great risk of developing heart disease. Several studies have confirmed that women with lupus have a five- to ten-fold increased risk of coronary heart disease compared to the general population, especially women with lupus who are younger than 55. Ninety percent of people with lupus are women and the 80 percent of new cases of lupus develop among women ages 15-44.

Researchers compared cardiovascular risk factors in women with lupus to groups of equally matched healthy women. Although the groups were matched for age and other factors, the women with lupus were more likely to have risk factors traditionally associated with heart disease, including hypertension, and higher levels of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and homocysteine, an amino acid found in the blood. These factors are associated with inflammation caused by lupus and likely contribute to the increased risk of coronary heart disease.

Several decades ago, when women with lupus died shortly after developing lupus, their deaths were attributed to previously undiagnosed and untreated active lupus. But when they died years after their diagnosis of lupus, the cause of death was attributed to atherosclerotic heart disease. Atherosclerosis is now considered an inflammatory disease and lupus is the prototypic inflammatory disease. Inflammation plays a major role in causing atherosclerosis, which results when fatty deposits, cholesterol and other materials accumulate in the blood.

The combination of atherosclerosis and lupus greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease among women. A lupus flare or autoimmune response may cause inflammation to blood vessels. Inflammation stretches clogged arteries, causing tears in the artery walls and allowing blood clots to form. These clots can block blood supply to the heart and can trigger a heart attack.

Researchers are studying potential therapies that will reduce the risk of heart disease in women with lupus, including cholesterol-lowering drugs and aspirin therapy. However, women with lupus also can take more traditional steps to lower their risk: lose weight, stop smoking, lower blood pressure and homocysteine levels, and get moderate aerobic exercise.
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« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2009, 02:14:01 pm »

What causes woman's heart problem?

Ask the Doctor
February 04. 2009

Q My 39-year-old daughter is having heart problems. The doctor says she has something called cardiomyopathy. She has weak spells and is always tired. Her doctor had her on a medication, but it caused her blood pressure to go too low, so he took her off it. He is now trying to find something else that may work for her.


Could you please explain what this disease is, what happens to the body, any treatment options and what the prognosis is? I only know that somehow the heart doesn't pump right.

A Cardiomyopathy is a condition that causes the heart muscle to weaken, leading to inadequate heart pumping and blood flow, as well as other problems, such as palpitations.

There are several types of cardiomyopathy. Each is associated with a different cause. Some of these types include alcoholic, dilated, ischemic, restrictive, toxic, infectious, idiopathic and more. Causes include alcoholism, heart attacks, viral infections, lupus, celiac disease, long-term severe high blood pressure and many others.

Because you don't say what type your daughter has, I cannot give specific advice. However, I will briefly explain some general information including symptoms, treatment and prognosis.

Symptoms vary from person to person and from cause to cause. Some of the more common symptoms include fatigue, high blood pressure, palpitations, edema (swelling), cough (caused by fluid buildup in the lungs due to heart failure), shortness of breath and more.

If cardiomyopathy is suspected, a physician would likely order blood work to check for anemia and elevated cardiac enzymes, as well as imaging studies including a chest X-ray, echocardiogram, heart ultrasound and angiography.

Treatment often involves dietary and behavior modifications and medications.

Medications can include those to lower blood pressure, improve blood flow, reduce the workload of the heart while improving the heartbeat, relieve fluid buildup and slow the heart rate. What medications are given depend on which type of cardiomyopathy your daughter has.

The prognosis depends on the severity of the damage, the cause and the response to treatment.

Your daughter needs to be under the care of a cardiologist.

Write to Peter Gott, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10016.
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