Cardiovascular Involvement in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Focus on Arrhythmias.

Background

Cardiovascular implications in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are common and varied, including impacts on the pericardium, myocardium, valves, coronary arteries, and conduction system; all of these could be potential substrates or triggers of cardiac arrhythmias by interfering with disease severity and specific medication. Therefore, this narrative review aimed to assess the cardiac involvement in SLE underlying, mainly, cardiac arrhythmias.

Methods

We analyzed studies, published between 2015 and 2025 on PubMed, which explore cardiovascular involvement with a focus on arrhythmias in SLE from the perspectives of epidemiology, underlying mechanisms, diagnostic techniques, and the impact of standard and biologic therapies.

Results

The cardiac manifestation of LES (lupus pericarditis, lupus myocarditis, Libman-Sacks endocarditis, coronary artery disease, coronary vasculitis or myocardial fibrosis) represents a substrate for arrhythmia risk. These substrates, in association with other arrhythmias mechanisms considered as triggers or conduction abnormalities, determined arrhythmogenic conditions in these patients. In addition to structural heart disease, arrhythmias in SLE are caused by ongoing inflammation, immune system irregularities, microvascular problems, autonomic imbalance, oxidative stress, and side effects from treatments. Despite this complex background, arrhythmias are often overlooked and not routinely investigated in SLE care. Data that show how disease-modifying drugs may affect arrhythmias are limited and inconsistent, highlighting significant gaps in knowledge. Cardiac arrhythmias are a significant but, as yet, insufficiently underrecognized aspect of SLE, with serious implications for prognosis.

Conclusions

Systemic lupus erythematosus causes cardiovascular involvement that is associated with arrhythmias through various and complexes mechanisms, mainly related to direct cardiovascular structural damage, systemic inflammation or specific therapies. Data on arrhythmias secondary to cardiovascular damage in patients with SLE in the literature are limited. Therefore, early detection of electrical issues, regular cardiovascular evaluation in high-risk patients, and careful management of treatment effects are vital. A coordinated, multidisciplinary cardio-rheumatology approach is essential to improving arrhythmia detection, tailoring treatments, and ultimately decreasing cardiovascular complications and deaths in SLE patients.