NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many people with the autoimmune disease lupus may not realize that their risk of heart disease is substantially higher than average, a new study suggests.
Systemic lupus erythematosus -- or, more simply, lupus -- arises when the immune system launches a misguided attack on the body's own tissue. Among the most common symptoms are painful, swollen joints, fatigue and skin rash; however, lupus can damage many parts of the body, including the heart and blood vessels.
It's been estimated that adults with lupus are five to nine times more likely to develop heart disease compared with the general population.
However, in the new study, researchers found that only 31 percent of 226 lupus patients recognized their disease as a "definite" risk factor for cardiovascular disease. What's more, 58 percent said their doctor had never counseled them about their heart risks.
The findings are published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.
It's not clear whether most patients really had never spoken with their doctors about heart health, according to lead researcher Dr. Lisabeth V. Scalzi, of the Hershey Medical Center and Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine.
The patients completed questionnaires asking them about their past interactions with their doctors, so "recall comes into play," Scalzi told Reuters Health.
Still, the findings show that a doctor's counseling can make a large difference in lupus patients' heart-health knowledge.
Study patients who said their doctors had talked with them about heart issues were more than twice as likely to know that lupus was a heart disease risk factor, and they were three times as likely as other patients to perceive themselves to be at risk.
The researchers found that the youngest patients in their study -- those younger than 37 -- were four times more likely than those age 52 and older to recognize lupus as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This was despite the fact that young patients were less likely to say their doctor had counseled them on heart disease.
