Hi Doctor, I got lupus for 1x years and just recently did 24 hour ECG and was told 早搏, which I felt extra heart beat in just these few months (not before). Confidently after lupus flared up and after readjust medicine dosages... I wonder if that's related to lupus or simply heart issue. Thank you
Ms. Lam, Premature ectopic beats are common and benign and will not progress into malignant conditions. It is quite bothersome as you may feel thumps in the chest, but that's all it is going to be. Ectopic beats are produced from an ectopic site in the heart, triggered by physical or mental stress. The ectopic site in turn produces an electrical impulse that will function similarly to a normal electrical impulse but a little stronger. This condition is not exclusive to lupus erythematosus. Everyone may have a chance of having various degrees of premature ectopic beats. Only those who have frequent ectopics >10% or with underlying heart failure that warrants an ablation surgery to eradicate the ectopic focus in the heart.
Typical lupus heart condition not only have a higher chance of having ectopics, due to its chronic system inflammatory process, lupus cardiac complications also include bundle branch blocks, congenital heart conduction defects, coronary atherosclerosis, myocarditis (7-10%), pericarditis (11-54%), and a sterile form of endocarditis that occurs among lupus patients called Libman Sacks endocarditis, which no oral medication is specifically helpful for this condition, apart from treating the underlying condition. If the endocarditis progresses to a point that causes heart failure, then valvular repair or valvular replacement is indicated.