Medical Health Encyclopedia

The risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke is much higher than average in younger women with SLE. The risks decline as such women age.

Lung Complications

SLE affects the lungs in about 60% of patients:

• Recurrent inflammation of the membrane lining the lung (pleurisy) is the most common problem.
• In some cases, fluid accumulates, a condition called pleural effusion, and can cause stabbing localized pain that worsens when coughing, sneezing, laughing, or taking a deep breath.
• Inflammation of the lung itself in SLE is called lupus pneumonitis. It can be caused by infections or by the SLE inflammatory process. Symptoms are the same in both cases: fever, chest pain, labored breathing, and coughing. Rarely, lupus pneumonitis becomes chronic and causes scarring in the lungs, which reduces their ability to deliver oxygen to the blood.
• A very serious and also rare condition called pulmonary hypertension occurs when high pressure develops in the vessels supplying blood to the lungs.

Click the icon to see an image of primary pulmonary hypertension.

Kidney Complications (Lupus Nephritis)

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The kidneys are a crucial battleground in SLE because it is here that the debris left over from the immune attacks is most likely to be deposited. About 50% of patients with SLE exhibit inflammation of the kidneys (called lupus nephritis).This condition occurs in different forms and can vary widely in severity.

Click the icon to see an image of the kidney.

• Proliferative nephritis is a serious variant of lupus nephritis. It occurs when the inflammatory process causes widespread damage and scarring in the blood vessels of the kidneys, which filters waste products, water, and salts out of the blood. The condition is associated with high blood pressure and kidney deterioration.
• Membranous lupus nephritis is another variant that is often associated with a good outlook. In some cases, however, if the kidney is persistently exposed to high protein levels, the disorder can progress to fatal end-stage kidney (renal) disease.