Lupus nephritis and its association with subclinical myocardial alterations in systemic lupus erythematosus assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance

Background: Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most common and severe complication in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is associated with cardiac disease. The purpose of this study was to assess the cardiac phenotype of SLE patients with LN using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), and to investigate whether comorbid LN is associated with left ventricular (LV) remodeling. Methods: Clinical assessment and CMR were performed in 66 SLE patients without LN, 36 SLE patients with LN, and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Results: SLE patients with LN had a more impaired global longitudinal strain (-12.37 ± 5.15% vs. -14.40 ± 2.80% vs. -14.92 ± 3.04%; P = 0.045) than SLE patients without LN and control group. Moreover, native T1 (1330 ± 54 vs. 1286 ± 81 vs. 1256 ± 41; P