Atherosclerosis is a common cause of death and disability, even in premenopausal women, in systemic lupus erythematosus. The additional risk in SLE (and other related disorders) cannot be explained by levels of “classic” risk factors. There is evidence that SLE itself, its effects on atherosclerosis risk factors and the effect of the drugs used to threat SLE may all play a role in accelerating atherosclerosis in SLE. Even though “classic” risk factors do not explain all of the vascular risk in SLE, it is still vitally important that they be vigorously treated.
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