Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in myocardial involvement of systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that primarily affects young women. Myocardial involvement in SLE frequently occurs and it is rather challenging to make the diagnosis in current clinical settings, mainly due to the extensive clinical presentation of signs and symptoms. As a noninvasive imaging reference in diagnosing cardiomyopathy and myocarditis, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging can provide new insight into myocardial abnormalities including inflammation, fibrosis, and microcirculation. Therefore, the main aim of this work was to systematically review the pathology, clinical features, and diagnosis, while illustrating the clinical role of CMR on myocardial involvement of SLE.

Keywords: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging; Diffusion weighted imaging; Strain; Systemic lupus erythematosus; T1 mapping; T2 mapping; myocardial inflammation.