Silent myocardial infarction diagnosed by myocardial perfusion SPECT in a young woman with systemic lupus erythematosus

Premature atherosclerosis and its consequent heart disease play a crucial role in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, even in premenopausal women. It is one of the leading causes of death in long evolution lupus.

We present herewith the case of a 42-year-old premenopausal woman, smoker, with a history of hypertension, cholecystectomy and lupus for 23 years, treated with NSAID, steroids and antimalarial drugs. The patient was consulted due to chest pain on moderate efforts. Due to the suspicion of ischemic heart disease, a cardiology study was initiated, performing a myocardial perfusion SPECT. This revealed an intense and extensive anterolateral perfusion defect, with very light reperfusion in rest images, consistent with the diagnosis of acute infarction in the apical region and ischemia in the territory of the left anterior descending artery, which was later confirmed by cardiac catheterization.