Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been recognized as a major cause of morbidity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but it is not clear whether increased awareness of these risks has translated into improvements in CVD morbidity at the population level. The aim of this study was to examine trends in hospitalization rates for CVD events in a representative sample of adult patients with SLE in the US from 1996 to 2012.
We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample to estimate the rates of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina, and ischemic stroke from 1996 to 2012 in patients with SLE. We compared these trends with those in the general population.
During the study years, there were an estimated 31,012 hospitalizations for acute MI, 4,160 hospitalizations for unstable angina, and 26,144 hospitalizations for ischemic stroke among patients with SLE. The rates of hospitalization for acute MI and ischemic stroke increased over time in patients with SLE, while the rates for unstable angina decreased. The rates for all 3 conditions decreased in the general population over these years, with hospitalization rates for unstable angina decreasing faster in the general population than in patients with SLE.
Increased awareness of the burden of CVD in patients with SLE has not yet translated into decreased rates of hospitalization for acute MI or stroke. This may be due to barriers in implementation of CVD risk factor modification or to SLE-specific risks that have not yet been identified or effectively targeted.