The implication of tissue Doppler echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise in early detection of cardiac dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can present limitations to exercise capacity and quality of life (QoL) because of various clinical conditions, such as pulmonary disease or heart disease. Tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) offers the promise of an objective measurement to quantify regional and global ventricular function through the assessment of myocardial velocity data. This study aimed to assess the intensity of left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic dysfunction in SLE patients by means of TDE and cardiopulmonary exercise (CPX) testing to determine their impact on QoL.