Subclinical impairment of arterial mechanics in systemic lupus erythematosus identified by arterial waveform analysis.

Structural and functional changes in wall and endothelial components of arterial blood vessels underlie the accelerated vascular disease progression in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Using pulse contour analysis we sought to determine if subclinical vascular abnormalities could be identified in a well-characterised cohort of patients with SLE who had no increase in traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Radial artery pressure waveforms were obtained by applanation tonometry and pressure envelopes were analysed by descriptive and model-based approaches.

Microcirculatory hemodynamics and endothelial dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: Impaired flow-mediated dilation (FMD) occurs in disease states associated with atherosclerosis, including SLE. The primary hemodynamic determinant of FMD is wall shear stress, which is critically dependent on the forearm microcirculation. We explored the relationship between FMD, diastolic shear stress (DSS), and the forearm microcirculation in 32 patients with SLE and 19 controls.