arrhythmia and lupus

[lak]

I have written in the forum concerning my arrthymia before.  You might want to refer to my precious posts.  I have recently undergone tests again my echo ejection fraction was 40% and my pvcs are coming about every 30 seconds.  However, my ANA came back elevated and my cardiologists now wants me to see a rhuematologists and says he thinks all my symptoms are pointing to lupus.  Can you tell me a little about lupus and if it is determined by a blood test what kind it is??? There are alot of diffrent kinds.  Also, does this have anything to do with the arrthymia and chest pain I often feel under my left breast bone?
I am very concerned about my fate, I have read articles that say you can lead a normal life.... Please answer my questions and elaborate on the disease to educate me a little more.  My ANA is 400 is this enough to diagnose the disease?  I do have other symptoms, red discoloration on cheeks and nose, dry skin, headaches, dizziness, pain in joints and neck ...... Thank you in advance, lak

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

Lak,

Thanks for the post.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE, or Lupus) is not a primary cardiologic disorder.  You may wish to post your question on the Rheumatology site to learn more about the proper diagnostic criteria, long-term outcome, ANA levels, etc.

Cardiac manifestations vary from patient to patient, for some they are a major compnent of the disorder, but for others not that prominent.  The cardiac manifestations that are described usually do not include arrhythmias as a prominent manifestation.  Typical cardiac manifestations include pericarditis, myocarditis, pulmonary hypertension, and Libman-Sachs endocarditis.

Establishing the diagnosis of Lupus should be done by a rheumatologist or experienced internist.  The diagnosis is tricky and relies more on the clinical symptoms/signs than it does on lab work.

I'm sorry to not be able to provide more, but this is simply not a diagnosis that falls under the realm of diseases that cardiologists frequently see.  

Hope that helps.

[valger]

Hi, and thanks for that info, I had one question about the lupus.  I have bad PVC's, probably averaging about 5 a minute or so.  I have had them for years, probably about 12 years.  Once in a while, they disappear for a while, but come back evenutally to the point where it's every few beats again.  My tests come out pretty normal, except once I had a very high glucose rate at 197, which wasn't fasting, though, and had that retaken and then it was normal at fasting.  But, I did have an elevated Sed Rate of 38.  My ANA came out negative, but I was wondering if that could mean lupus, or what an elevated Sed Rate could mean.  I had been ill with a chest cold, but that was a couple of weeks before.  I was living in Reno, Nevada at the time of the test.  I mention this because I heard that higher altitudes can have something to do with elevations also.  Thanks for any help!!  Val

[LynnSB]

Hi,
You wrote
>>>>My ANA came out negative, but I was wondering if that could mean lupus, or what an elevated Sed Rate could mean. I had been ill with a chest cold, but that was a couple of weeks before. >>

Please don't  worry about an elevated sed rate if you had just had a chest cold. I mean, certainly discuss it with your doctor but I'm assuming he or she said it was elevated a bit, not something extraordinarily high. A Sed rate is a very non-specific test, mostly indicating inflammation. It is perfectly normal for it to have been a little elevated if  you had a chest cold with some inflammation.

You can have lupus with a negative ANA but that's pretty unusual. I think you are worrying way too much!

Good luck.

[valger]

Hi, and thanks so much for the reply!  That really makes me feel so much better.  I was worried about the high sed rate (38) because I didn't really know what it meant.  The doctor I saw in Reno didn't really seem to know why it would be elevated either.  He must not see that too much.  Sometimes I think I should just stop taking blood tests, something always comes out wrong.  I had elevated liver enzymes for the longest time, and worried about that, and then they went back to normal.  Finally my liver enzymes were normal, and then I had a high sed rate, it's always something!  There's so many factors that can influence the blood test results I think.  So, usually you would have a positive ANA if you had lupus?  Thanks again so much for taking the time to write me back, it really helped!  Val

[minnierice]

Hi! This is for anyone out there who has had orthostatic blood pressure,low potassium, lupus,positive antiphospholipid.
doctor can't figure out what is causing low potassium,low blood pressure or tingling in hands,calves,head, chest,back shoulders any idea. I've been in hospital 8 times in 12 weeks with no results and still feeling bad.