TY - JOUR T1 - Challenges in understanding the role of pregnancy morbidity in cardiovascular risk in SLE JF - Lupus Science & Medicine JO - Lupus Sci & Med DO - 10.1136/lupus-2014-000035 VL - 1 IS - 1 SP - e000035 AU - Julia F Simard AU - Jinoos Yazdany Y1 - 2014/06/01 UR - http://lupus.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000035.abstract N2 - Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).1 Despite extensive and ongoing research in this area, few risk factors, including traditional ones such as smoking and hypertension, explain a significant proportion of the risk. There is a robust scientific literature showing that the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as endothelial dysfunction, hypertension and increased arterial stiffness increase after pre-eclampsia, as do future risks of metabolic syndrome and CVD.2 Given that a majority of patients with SLE are women of reproductive age and the reported early CVD morbidity in women with SLE, investigating the relationship between pre-eclampsia (and other pregnancy complications) and subsequent CVD risk is of great interest in SLE. To that end, investigators explored the link between pregnancy complications and subsequent … ER -