Early diagnosis of cardiac involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus via global longitudinal strain (GLS) by speckle tracking echocardiography

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) myocarditis occurs in between 5% and 10% of patients with lupus. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) via speckle tracking echocardiography can detect cardiac involvement in patients suffering from SLE. We decided to determine the echocardiographic features and subsequent early diagnosis of cardiac involvement in patients with SLE utilizing the GLS index via speckle tracking echocardiography. In this cross-sectional study, we compared female patients with SLE of at least 2 years’ duration and healthy controls in terms of the left ventricular (LV) GLS via speckle tracking echocardiography. After data collection in both groups, the GLS index and the ejection fraction were evaluated. We analyzed and compared the LV echocardiographic parameters of 33 patients with SLE (mean age=25.45±0.63 years) with those of 35 healthy controls (mean age=27±0.45 years). The apical 2-chamber view indicated a significant decrease in the LV GLS in the case group by comparison with the healthy controls (P=0.005). The LV GLS in the apical 3-chamber view was significantly lower in the case group than in the control group (P=0.006). The LV GLS in the apical 4-chamber view revealed no significant difference between the case and healthy control groups (P=0.2). While there was a significant difference between the case and control groups vis-à-vis the LV GLS (P=0.02), the LV ejection fraction measured with the Simpson method showed no significant difference between the 2 groups (P=0.96). GLS speckle tracking echocardiography is a noninvasive method with diagnostic and prognostic values; it may, therefore, be a sensitive marker for the diagnosis of myocarditis and other cardiac involvements in patients with SLE.